HC blast: Charges of waging war to be framed against Malik

A Delhi court will tomorrow frame additional charges, including that of waging war against the country, against Wasim Akram Malik, arrested for his alleged role in the September 2011 Delhi High Court blast case.
During an in-chamber hearing, District Judge (DJ) I S Mehta today said that he will tomorrow frame the additional charges under section 121 (waging war against the country) of the IPC against Malik, court sources said.
Besides charges under section 121 of the IPC, the court is also likely to frame charges under sections 121A(conspiring to commit certain offences against the State), 122 (collecting arms with the intention of waging war against Govt) and 123 (concealing with intent to felicitate a design to wage war) of the IPC against Malik, the sources said.

The trial court had earlier declined the plea of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to prosecute Malik under the stringent charge of waging war against India which entails maximum punishment of death penalty, but the high court had ruled otherwise.
The Delhi High Court had passed an order on December 3 last year ordering the trial court to frame charges of waging war against the country against Malik, who is currently in jail under judicial custody.
The trial court had on October 1 last year framed charges, including that of murder, against Malik under IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substance Act for his alleged role in the terror attack at the court's reception in which 15 people were killed and 79 injured.

The trial court judge, however, had declined NIA's plea to prosecute Malik for the charges of waging war against India saying that merely because an email referring to the release of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged on February 9, was sent by the accused after the blast, it does not mean that an offence against the state was committed.