First-ever Life Imprisonment in the case of Anti Hijacking: News

FIRST EVER LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN CASE OF ANTI HIJACKING

First-ever NIA special court in Ahmedabad recently pronounced the judgment Jet Hijacking Case, making the accused Birju Kishor Salla the first convict under the Anti Hijacking Act 2016. He prepared a hijack note in English or Urdu in Mumbai to Delhi flight. He boarded on October 30, 2017, a Jet Airways flight from Bombay to Delhi and stuck this note in the tissue box of front toilet shortly after takeoff:  in the note, this Flight No. 9W 339 is covered by Hijackers and aircraft should not be land. And don’t take it as a joke. Cargo area contains explosives bomb and we blast if you land Delhi and take it straight to Pakistan…And Allah is great.’ But pilot and co-pilot immediately inform to air trafficking system and take emergency landing in Ahmedabad. Birju was arrested on suspicion and soon confessed to having thought up this scheme in an attempt to defame the airline and force it’s closure, taking the girl’s job with it.

Thus, he became the first person to be prosecuted under the stringent new Anti – Hijacking Act  2016. Further the Special Judge (NIA) also noted that, under section 16(b), the Designated Court shall presume, unless the contrary is proved, that the accused had committed such offence, if there is evidence of use of force, threat of force or any other form of intimidation caused to the crew or passengers in connection with the commission of such offence. In the present case, the recovery of the threatening note was enough for the court to presume that the accused has committed an offence under section 3.” And he was punishable under sections3(1), 3(2) (a) and 4(b) anti-hijacking act. And section 3 said that ‘whoever unlawfully and intentionally seizes or exercises control of an aircraft in service by force or threat thereof, or by coercion, or by any other form of intimidation, or by any technological means, commits the offfence of hijacking. Sec 3(2)(a) makes a threat to commit such offence or unlawfully and intentionally causes any person to receive such threat under circumstances which indicate that the threat is credible; or an sec 4(b) with imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life and with fine . In the city session court of Ahmedabad NIA special case No 1 2018 State of Gujarat Vs. Birju Salla