Yusuf Nepali was accused of conspiring with Bujhail and providing weapons used in the hijacking while Abdul Latif was charged with helping the five hijackers in preparing documents, including passports and licences.

The three, who have been in Patiala jail ever since their arrest by the Mumbai police, were among ten accused charged in the case by the CBI. The others who have been declared proclaimed offenders are the five hijackers and their two associates in Pakistan — Ibrahim Athar alias Chief, Sunny Ahmed Qazi alias Burger, Shahid Sayeed Akhtar alias Doctor, Zahoor Ibrahim Mistry alias Bhola, Shakir alias Shankar and Jaish-e-Muhammad Maulana Masood Azhar’s brother Yusuf Azhar and his brother-in-law Abdul Rauf.

Defence counsel Sodhi said they would move the High Court against today’s verdict. He maintained that the CBI did not present before the court the details of its investigation in Bangladesh in the same case.