SC acquits blast accused in jail for 23 years

Supreme Court acquitted Pappu, alias Salim, accused in the 1996 Rajasthan bomb blast case, after he spent 23 years in jail.

The court found the prosecution case 'woefully wanting and lacking in merit' and directed his release.

Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta ruled that trial court and Rajasthan high court wrongly convicted Salim based on confessional statements with serious infirmities.

Main accused Dr. Abdul Hameed, who received death sentence, had his conviction quashed due to lack of proper legal aid, but Salim was acquitted on merit.

Salim was released on parole after completing 23 years in jail during the pendency of the case.