Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea by Hashimpura convict seeking bail to repair his house

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea filed by a Hashimpura massacre convict seeking bail on the ground that he wanted to repair his dilapidated house.

A Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Augustine George Masih made it clear the same cannot be a reason to grant bail to the accused.

"Cannot be, what kind of ground is this?" Justice Oka demanded.

The convict, one Basant Vallabh, then withdrew the plea.

The interim bail plea was filed by Vallabh in a pending criminal appeal.

The appeal was against a 2018 Delhi High Court judgment, which convicted sixteen former Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and police personnel and sentenced them to life in the Hashimpura massacre of 1987.

The High Court ruling had reversed the earlier acquittal by the trial court.

In May 1987, more than 40 men from the Muslim community were rounded up by PAC personnel and shot "in cold blood". Five men survived the massacre and recounted their experiences.

In 1988, the Uttar Pradesh government initiated an investigation into the incident, assigning it to the Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CB CID). In its 1994 report, the CB CID indicted over 60 PAC and police personnel.

Two years later, in 1996, the CB CID filed a chargesheet against 19 individuals.

In 2002, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Delhi after the victims' families approached the top court requesting transfer of the case.

In March 2015, 28 years after the massacre, the trial court acquitted the 16 surviving accused individuals.

Following this judgment, three appeals were filed before the Delhi High Court—two by the victims and their families and one by the State of Uttar Pradesh. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was permitted to intervene in the case.

The High Court reversed the trial court's acquittal order and convicted the accused. Appeal against the same is pending before the apex court.