Special Judge Inderjit Singh Walia, on January 18, had reserved his judgment for today after conclusion of arguments in the case of the hijacking of flight IC-814 from Kathmandu on December 24, 1999. The hearing was conducted inside the high-security Patiala Central Jail, where the three accused by the CBI — Abdul Latif, Dalip Kumar and Yusuf Nepali — are lodged since their arrest about eight years back. The three have been accused of helping the hijackers in procuring fake passports and other papers and also helping them take weapons aboard the aircraft that was hijacked later. The hijackers sought and secured the release of dreaded terrorists from Indian prisons, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Zargar and Sheikh Ahmed Omar Sayeed.

However, the main accused in the case, Ibrahim Athar and six others, are still at large and the CBI has not been able to arrest them. Athar, a relative of Maulana Masood Azhar and head of the five plane hijackers, along with two other Pakistani nationals, has been accused of hijacking and conspiracy.

The three accused being tried now, after their arrest at the hands of the Mumbai police on December 30, 1999, were presented by the CBI before the Patiala court in March 2000. Ever since, they have been lodged in Patiala Jail.

Yusuf Nepali has been charged with travelling to Kathmandu and providing the weapons used in the hijacking in conspiracy with Dalip Kumar Bujhail, while Abdul Latif was charged with helping the five Pakistani hijackers in the preparation of documents, including their passports and Indian licences at Mumbai.

The hijacking drama ended after India released the terrorists, including Maulana Masood Azhar, as sought by the hijackers. India’s then foreign minister, Jaswant Singh, had personally flown to Kandahar along with the militants for their release in lieu of the passengers held captive.

Rupen Katyal (25), returning after his honeymoon in Kathmandu, was killed while other passengers were released after a seven-day ordeal at Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. The plane was taken towards Pakistan, but later landed at Amritsar airport, from where it took off and landed in Lahore. After refuelling, it took off and finally landed at Kandahar after a stopover in Dubai.

The case was initially heard by an ordinary local court for about a year, as a special designated court was not set up despite orders under Section 268 CrPC. Later, a special designated court was constituted under the Anti-Hijacking Act, which has been hearing the case since March 2001. The hearing was held in camera and over 120 witnesses were examined.