HC rejects bail to 10 convicts in professor hand chopping case

The Kerala High Court today refused to grant bail to ten convicts in the case related to the chopping off of a hand of a college professor in 2010 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a question paper he had set.
When their bail application came up for hearing, a division bench, comprising Justice K T Sankaran and Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan, ruled that grant of bail to the accused will adversely affect the trial and security of witnesses. "If bail is granted at this stage, that will adversely affect the trial of absconding accused as well as security of witnesses," the bench said.

All the 13 convicts belonging to a radical Islamic outfit have filed appeals against their conviction by the NIA court with ten of them seeking bail.
The NIA court had in May last year sentenced ten persons to eight years rigorous imprisonment for chopping off the hand of the professor T J Joseph, of Newman College in Thodupuzha in Idukki district.
NIA court judge P Sasidharan had also awarded two years rigorous imprisonment to three others in the sensational case and imposed a fine of Rs eight lakh on the 13 convicts.
The convicts had chopped off Joseph's right hand for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a question paper he had sent for his students.