The Gujarat government on Monday expressed shock over the decision of the Supreme Court to stay all proceedings in the July 26, 2008, serial bomb blasts case and said the stay was given without even hearing them.
"We cannot make comments on the decision of the judiciary. And it is also not our intention. But as far as the state government is concerned, it was very shocking," Gujarat government spokesperson Jaynarayan Vyas said in a statement.
"On one hand, when the country is being terrorised by the Pune bomb blast which claimed the lives of innocent people, a petition by members of the banned organisation Indian Mujaheedin is heard by the apex court without the state government being informed about it. This kind of one-sided proceeding is saddening," Vyas said.
"This will not only hamper internal security but also affect the minds of those who have faith in the judicial system. It will break the morale of the police force," he added. Vyas added that this was "like rubbing salt on the wounds of blast victims and their family members."
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed all proceedings initiated in Gujarat against the 63 accused persons, in cases related to a series of bomb blasts, which had occurred across the country in 2008.
The serial blast accused have sought the transfer of cases out of Gujarat for alleged bias by the police as well as the judicial machinery in the state.
The accused arrested from different parts of the country sought that they be shifted to jails outside Gujarat, alleging they were being subjected to torture by the police as well as jail authorities.
Acting on the plea of the accused, the court also issued a notice to the Gujarat government. The accused are currently being held in custody in Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat in connection with the serial blasts that rocked Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008.
In the blasts, 57 persons were killed and over 200 were injured at various places in the city, which included two government-run hospitals.
