The Madras High Court Bench here on Friday set aside an “illegal conviction and seven-year sentence” imposed by a trial court on three people, alleged to be LTTE sympathisers, on charges of conspiring to smuggle acetone, glycerine, formaldehyde and dicyanamide to Sri Lanka for making explosive substances and indulging in unlawful activities in 2008.
Disposing of appeals filed by them, Justice S. Nagamuthu ordered retrial in the case since the ‘Q’ branch police and the lower court had made “grave mistakes” in the trial that led to their conviction on March 4 this year. He pointed out that there were inconsistencies between charges framed against the accused and the charges under which they had been convicted. The judge said that he could not set aside the illegal conviction and let the appellants go scot-free for the errors of the prosecution and the trial court.