11 people acquitted from TADA charges 25 years after their arrest
Mumbai: Nashik’s Special TADA Court on Wednesday acquitted 11 people off charges of several sections of TADA and IPC, 25 years after they were arrested and charged under it.
Nashik’s Special TADA Court Judge S C Khati, cited lack of evidence and violation of TADA guidelines during investigations while acquitting 11 from the charges. “Advocates of prominent legal aid organasition ‘Jamiatul Ulama’ from last three years and were confident of acquitting all these 11 innocents from the case” a press release from Jamiat Ulama informed.
Jameel Ahmed Abdullah Khan, Mohammed Yunus Mohammed Ishaq, Farooque Nazir Khan, Yusuf Gulab Khan, Ayyub Ismail Khan, Waseemuddin Shamsudin, Shaikha Shafi Shaikh Azeez, Ashfaq Syed Murtuza Meer, Mumtaz Syed Murtuza Meer, haroon Mohammed Bafati and Moulana Abdul Qader Habibi were arrested on 28 May 1994 from Maharashtra and other parts of the country.
They were charged under section 120 (B) and 153 of Indian Penal Code and Section 3 (3) (4) (5) and Section 4 (1) (4) of TADA act for allegedly planning avenge of Babri Masjid demolition and for attending terrorist’s training camps in Kashmir in this regard.
They were also charged for trying to recruits youngsters from Nashik and Bhusawal for their alleged terror group Bhusawal Al Jihad.
Gulzar Azmi, who leads the team of advocates of Jamiat Ulama, after the verdict said, thought Justice has been delayed for these 11, but the tag of terrorists has been erased. He also congratulated the team of advocates which looked after the case. The team included Advocate Sharif Shaikh, Mateen Shaikh, Ansar Tanboli, Raziq Shaikh, Shahid Nadeem, Mohammed Arshad and other.
He added “More than half of the witnesses of prosecution turned hostile in the court. This proves that the case itself was built on false facts”.
“Even the review committee had twenty year back from today, recommended the government to discharge cases from these people, but the lower courts refused to accept the proposal and these 11 people had to pay the price for something they did not do and had to make rounds of the court and judiciary for 25 long years” Azmi further added.
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Karnataka new excise policy: Local liquor to get costlier, premium may get cheaper
Bengaluru: The state government on Monday rolled out a new excise policy that shifts from the decades-old bulk litre-based system to a model based on alcohol content in beverages, Deccan Herald reported.
Karnataka becomes the first state in India to adopt this model. The change is expected to make lower-priced liquor costlier, while some premium brands may see a reduction in prices.
A senior Excise Department official said: “The policy is being implemented from today (May 11). The Karnataka Excise (Excise Duty and Charges) (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified after a public consultation on a draft released on April 18, slashes the number of excise slabs from 16 to 8.”
Local liquor manufacturers have alleged that the policy favours multinational companies producing beer and spirits over domestic distilleries.
According to the Karnataka Brewers and Distillers Association (KBDA), the first five slabs, which cater to the common man, house the maximum number of state-owned distilleries and contribute nearly 70-75% of the state’s excise revenue, have seen their Additional Excise Duty (AED) rise by 20-30%.
In contrast, slabs 6 to 8, which include products from multinational companies such as United Spirits, Bacardi, Heineken, Carlsberg, and Anheuser-Busch, have seen AED reduced by 10-15%. The association said that while larger companies can absorb pricing shifts across their diverse portfolios, smaller regional distilleries limited to budget liquor may face volume contraction and potential closure.
A senior KBDA member said the price of a 180 ml bottle in the lowest slab, which was around Rs 63 last year, has already risen to Rs 80, and the new policy is set to push that price further to Rs 105 a jump driven by a 42.8% tax bracket.
