PTI By

Terrorist activities must be dealt with "iron hands of law" as they generate a stir in the sanctity and divinity of law, the Supreme Court today said while upholding the conviction of four people in blasts at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on the Republic Day in 1996.



"A great country like ours cannot succumb to this kind of terrorist activity as it is nationally as well as internationally obnoxious. Such tolerance would tantamount to acceptance of defeat.



"The iron hands of law have to fall and in the obtaining facts and circumstances, as the charges have been proved beyond reasonable doubt, the law has rightly visited the appellants and, accordingly, we concur with the same," a bench of Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said while dismissing the appeal of convicts.



It said law cannot remain silent to this because it is the duty of law to resist such attacks on peace.



"We have, in agony and anguish, have expressed thus because when a devastating activity like the present one occurs on the Republic Day of our country Bharat, it injures the nationality, disturbs the equilibrium of each individual citizen, creates a concavity in the equanimity of the peace of the State, generates a stir in the sanctity and divinity of law and order situation which is paramount in any civilized State, attempts to endanger the economic growth of a country and, in the ultimate eventuate, destroys the conceptual normalcy of any habitat," it said.



The court upheld the trial court and Rajasthan High Court order sentencing accused Abdul Mateen, a Pakistani national, to ten-year jail term. It also upheld the same punishment given to other accused Chandra Prakash, Abdul Hamid and Raies Beg.



The blast had taken place at Gate No.12 and 13 towards the southern and eastern side of Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur where the state-level function on the Republic Day was going to be celebrated.