Noor Aga gets justice after 10 years in jail

Chandigarh: Ten years after he remained imprisoned in Amritsar jail on allegations of flying into India with drugs in a grape carton from Afghanistan, Noor Aga, a member of Ariana Afghan Airlines crew, has now got justice from the Supreme Court. It was a typical case of justice delayed but not denied.
It was 1st August 1997 when his plane landed at the Raja Sansi International Airport in Amritsar, says a report in the daily Tribune. He was arrested for allegedly carrying 1.4 kg of heroin. He was prosecuted under Sections 22 and 23 of the NDPS Act. He was convicted by the trial court at Amritsar on 7th June. His appeal against the conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9th June 2006.
Appearing on behalf of Aga before the Supreme Court, Tanu Bedi countered the conviction on law points and exposed lacunae in the prosecution case. She asserted the prosecution had not produced physical evidence before the court, including the sample of the purported contraband, and even the carton.
She argued that independent witnesses had not been examined and there were discrepancies in the statements of official witnesses on search and seizure.
20/07/08 TwoCircles.net/Mudassir Rizwan/Indian Muslims, USA

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Categories: Foreign Jul 2008