Karnataka High Court imposes fine on terror-accused doctor for delaying proceedings in trial court

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has imposed Rs 10,000 on Dr Sabeel Ahmed, also known as "Motu Doctor", for abusing the court process by filing applications to delay proceedings in the 2012 Bengaluru terror plot case.

Dr Ahmed, a Bengaluru resident listed as Accused No 21 in the case, had challenged an order by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court dated May 27, 2024. The order required him to pay Rs 20,650 as travel allowance to a prosecution witness — a scientist from C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram.

The scientist, a key witness, had testified on February 15, 2024. Dr Ahmed and another accused requested time on two occasions to cross-examine him. On March 19, 2024, the trial court allowed cross-examination on April 5, 2024, provided the accused paid the witness' travel and dearness allowances. The prosecution calculated the travel expenditure at Rs 20,650 and submitted it to the court.

Dr Ahmed then filed an application seeking recalibration of the allowances under Rule 4(3) of the Karnataka Payment by Government of Expenses of Complainants and Witnesses (Attending Criminal Courts) Rules, 1967. The trial court rejected this application, prompting him to appeal to the High Court.

His counsel argued that the travel allowance determined by the prosecution was excessive. However, P Prasanna Kumar, the Special Public Prosecutor for the NIA, countered that Dr Ahmed and others had used delay tactics, forcing the witness to attend court multiple times.

A division bench of Justice KS Mudagal and Justice Vijayakumar A Patil observed that summoning the scientist repeatedly disrupted his professional responsibilities and wasted public resources.

"Only the petitioner has challenged the said order. Accused No 24 has not questioned that. So far as accused No 24, the order has attained finality. There cannot be a split verdict on the same issue. On that ground also, the petition is unsustainable,” the bench said.

The court ordered Dr Ahmed to pay the Rs 10,000 cost to the District Legal Services Authority, Bengaluru Urban, within 10 days. It also directed him to comply with the payment of Rs 20,650 to the witness within the same timeframe, warning that failure to do so would forfeit his right to cross-examine the witness.

Dr Ahmed is accused of raising funds and providing logistical support for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activities, including organising functions in Riyadh aimed at targeting prominent Hindu leaders and police officers in Karnataka.