SC acquits Sri Lankan national in UAPA case, says he was falsely implicated

The Supreme Court acquitted a Sri Lankan national, citing mistaken identity, after finding he was falsely implicated in a case related to the revival of the banned LTTE.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted a Sri Lankan national who was sentenced to a five-year jail term for alleged involvement in activities aimed at the revival of the banned LTTE, saying he was falsely implicated.

The man, who was arrested in December 2021 in connection with the case lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had claimed that it was a case of ''mistaken identity'' as he was not the accused named ''Sri'' who was absconding.

Flagging the ''inaction and indolence'' on the part of the investigating agency, the top court said it has not placed on record any material to demonstrate the steps taken by it to locate, apprehend and bring the absconding accused to trial.

''It is, therefore, clearly a case where the appellant has been falsely implicated by being assigned the identity of another person, namely, the so-called absconding accused ''Sri'' (A-5),'' a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi said.

The top court delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by the Sri Lankan national challenging an April 2025 order of the Madras High Court which affirmed his conviction and five-year sentence imposed by a trial court in Tamil Nadu.

According to the FIR registered in 2015, the police received secret information about a conspiracy between some persons to rejuvenate the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

It was alleged that the accused named ''Sri'' handed over 75 cyanide capsules and 60 grams of chemical GPS-4 used for making cyanide to another accused with specific direction to proceed to Sri Lanka and hand over them to a person to reorganise LTTE cadres and to eliminate rival Tamil leaders.

The trial in the case proceeded against some of the arrested accused who were convicted. The trial against ''Sri'' was split as he was absconding.

Later, the police arrested the appellant, whom it claimed was ''Sri'', on December 16, 2021.

The top court noted in its verdict that the appellant had come to India in 2009 along with his wife and son, holding a legally valid Sri Lankan passport and a valid tourist visa granted by the Government of India.

It noted that the appellant's name as recorded in the passport was ''Ranjan''.

The bench said upon arriving in India, the appellant, along with his wife and son, registered themselves with a police station in Tamil Nadu as non-camp refugees and he stayed in Trichy for over a decade without any criminal conduct or complaint against his name.

It said the appellant's wife and his son were granted a visa by the Government of Switzerland in 2014 and both of them left for Switzerland, where they were granted citizenship.

The bench said the appellant also applied for a Swiss visa through his wife, which was granted to him by the Swiss Embassy at New Delhi in July 2021, subject to police clearance in Tamil Nadu.

The appellant had said that while he was waiting for police clearance, he was arrested in December 2021 on the allegation that his actual name was ''Sri'' alias ''Ranjan'' and he was an accused in the pending case.

Referring to the appellant's conduct during the relevant period, the bench said, ''A person who is an absconding accused in a serious UAPA matter would not dare to apply to a foreign embassy for a visa and seek a police clearance certificate from the very police station in whose jurisdiction he admittedly resided under a false identity.''.

The top court noted that in December 2025, it had suspended the sentence and directed his release on bail subject to conditions to be imposed by the trial court, after considering that he had undergone incarceration for a period short of one year of the total sentence of five years.

Later, the trial court granted him bail with the stipulation that he be lodged in a special camp at Trichy.

While dealing with the case, the apex court said the courts below have erred in holding that the appellant was the absconding accused ''Sri'', and the conviction based on ''this flawed identification cannot be sustained in the eyes of the law''.

The bench said two star prosecution witnesses were the only ones who had identified the appellant as ''Sri''.

''At the very outset, it is significant to note that both these witnesses were residing in India as refugees and had procured identity documents such as Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and Indian voter identity cards,'' it said.

The bench said it was ''wholly inconceivable'' as to why no action was taken against them, despite material clearly indicating that they had created documents projecting themselves as Indian citizens.

It noted that both these witnesses had not stated earlier that the person referred to as ''Sri'' was also known as ''Ranjan''.

''The belated introduction of this name, years after the alleged incident, renders their testimonies highly suspect,'' it said.

The bench said prima facie, it appeared that both these witnesses, who had themselves brought their relatives from Sri Lanka under false identities and were under scrutiny of the investigating agency, ''were, by way of a bargain, prevailed upon to implicate the appellant in the present case''.

While allowing the appeal, the bench acquitted him and said that he be forthwith released from special camp at Trichy.

''He shall be at liberty to pursue his request for relocation/movement to Switzerland, in accordance with the law,'' it said.