A Special NIA Court in Kochi, Kerala on Thursday, July 13, sentenced three persons to life imprisonment in the case related to chopping the palm of TJ Joseph, a college professor.The court on Wednesday, July 12, had convicted six persons in the case, which happened in 2010, while acquitting five others.
The three men - Sajil, Nasar and Najeeb - have been found guilty of attempted murder, conspiracy and offenses under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In the first phase of the trial, held in April 2015, the NIA court had convicted 13 persons and acquitted 18 others.
The trial’s second phase was presided over by special court judge Anil K Bhaskar, who found the second accused Sajil, third accused Nasar, fifth accused Najeeb, ninth accused Noushad, 11th accused PP Moideen Kunhu, and 12th accused Ayoob guilty. Noushad, Moideen and Ayoob have been awarded with three years imprisonment and Rs 10,000 as fine. The men are allegedly activists of the now banned Popular Front of India.
The court said that the accused were acting based on their religious text to punish Prof Joseph, whom they alleged had committed blasphemy of prophet Mohammed and Islam. Joseph had included a question in an internal examination of Newman College were he taught, which they found offensive. Quoting the Supreme Court in Jaswinder Singh (Dead) v Navjot Singh Sidhu case, the NIA court said, “punishment to be awarded for the crime must not be irrelevant but it should confirm to and be consistent with the brutality and atrocity with which the crime has perpetrated.”
Calling it a terrorist act, the court pointed out that the crime of the accused is an attempt to establish a parallel religious judicial system, which is illegal, illegitimate and unconstitutional. Court also noted that there is no possibility of reformation of the accused since Sajil, one of the accused, had celebrated the suicide of professor’s wife Salomi, which happened a year after the palm chopping incident.
When asked whether Joseph was happy with the judgment, he said in the case, he is a witness.
"With regards to the quantum of punishment, it's for the experts to react to it and not me. With regards to the guilty, they think they have done the right thing as that's their ideology. That's what should change," said Joseph.
On police protection given to him and the amount of compensation, Joseph shot back, saying: "Yes, now I have protection, but when I had faced threat to life, I had informed the police three times, but no action was taken."
"With regards to the compensation, the state government is responsible and they have to give it, and it doesn't matter if it's collected from anyone," said Joseph.
The incident occurred on July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor of Malayalam at Newman College, Thodupuzha, a Christian minority institution affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi University, along with his family was returning after Sunday mass. The trial started in 2013.
Joseph was waylaid by a group of armed men and his palm was cut off.
The attackers belonging to the now banned Popular Front of India were upset over a question paper prepared by Joseph which they claimed was derogatory and in retaliation they cut off his palm and escaped.
Meanwhile, the prime accused in the case, Sawad is still at large, and the NIA has not closed the case.
With IANS inputs