In an apparent attempt to reach out to the Muslim community, government today decided to examine their demand for setting up of fast-track courts to expedite trial of "innocent" Muslim youth accused of terror acts.
"We will examine the demand," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told PTI after a delegation of political leaders, MPs met him demanding justice to "innocent" Muslim youth accused in terror charges languishing in jails.
CPI leader A B Bardhan led the team which also submitted a 14-point memorandum demanding that a clear-cut time-frame for setting up of fast-track courts be announced immediately and release of all the accused who have been in prison for two years or more on bail.
Earlier, the team met Shinde's junior Cabinet colleague R P N Singh and apprised him of their demands on the issue.
Shinde had recently written a letter to Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan that his ministry strongly supports the proposal for special courts so that expeditious trials could be held in cases where "innocent" youth from the community are accused of terror acts.
He had promised strong action against officers responsible for such cases, saying that it was a serious crime to knowingly arrest and keep innocent people in custody.
Besides, the ministry has also decided to take up with the states cases of innocents being wrongly charged when these come to its notice.
