Air India trial adjourned again

The Kanishka trial was put on hold again as lawyers for one of the chief accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik, asked for more time for negotiations over how his legal fees were to be paid.

Scheduled to resume on Monday, the proceedings in the case were put off till October 14. Malik's lawyers are to return to court on Friday to update the judge on the progress made in the funding negotiations.

Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are the two main accused in the bombing of the Air-India flight, which crashed off the Irish coast on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 passengers on board.

This is the third time in recent weeks that the case has been adjourned to give Malik's lawyers more time to reach an agreement with the British Columbia government to fund his 11-member legal team, CBC News reported.

Lawyers for Malik, a Vancouver-based millionaire, have been trying to persuade the Canadian government to pay his legal fees as his wealth is not in the form of cash and he would take time to liquidate his assets. The British Columbian government has already paid about $2.7 million towards the cost of Malik's defence, estimated to cost $4.4 million.

Malik had earlier tried to force provincial officials to pay under a Constitutional provision that entitles an accused to a fair trial with an adequate defence but the British Columbia supreme court scathingly rejected that claim.

Noting that when Malik was charged two years ago, he claimed a net worth of $8.8 million, Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein had in September said that the millionaire accused's current money shortage was 'artificial and contrived'.

The lawyers for Bagri, a mill worker from Kamloops, British Columbia, voiced concern over the delay, saying it was taking a toll on their client. Bagri's fees are being covered by the provincial government.

Kanishka Bombing Case: Complete Coverage