Ghandy acquitted in ‘anti-India’ speech case

A court on Tuesday acquitted Kobad Ghandy of all charges in a six-year-old case accusing him of delivering two “anti-national” speeches at Punjabi University here.

Additional Sessions and District Judge Mohammad Gulzar passed the order after the case was heard on a day-to-day basis from September 27.

Mr. Ghandy (66) had pleaded that he was booked for delivering the lectures in April and May 2009, when the CPI (Maoist) was not banned.

The organisation was banned in June 22, 2009, he had argued.

Mr. Ghandy told presspersons after the acquittal that he had disassociated himself from the banned organisation.

The prosecution had a list of 13 witnesses, of whom one could not be produced and was shown as untraceable.

Mr. Ghandy was booked in January 2010 by the Patiala Sadar police under sections 10, 13, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections 419 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code for holding meetings on the premises of the university in 2009, in an alleged bid to promote Maoist ideology.

He was brought here from Cherlapally Central Jail, Telangana on September 27.

The case was concluded in 20 days. — PTI