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The Kerala High Court granted bail and suspended the life imprisonment sentence of MK Nasar, one of the main accused in the 2010 attack on Professor TJ Joseph.
This case gained national attention after members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) cut off the professor’s hand, accusing him of blasphemy.
On July 4, 2010, Professor Joseph, a faculty member at Newman College in Thodupuzha, was attacked while returning from church with his family. The attackers accused him of insulting Prophet Mohammed in a question paper he had prepared.
The High Court suspended Nasar’s sentence after considering his appeal against the trial court’s conviction. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. The court also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms.
A division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and PV Balakrishnan explained their decision, stating: “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over nine years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored.”
The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He must provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail.
Nasar, identified as the main conspirator in the attack, had been on the run for a long time before his eventual arrest.
In July 2023, a special NIA court convicted six and acquitted five others in the case. A total of 19 accused have so far been convicted for offences under the Indian Penal Code and anti-terror laws in the case. Of them, three were convicted for life, and 10 others were sent to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and fines.
