IIT alumnus’s father says US trial miscarriage of justice

“The sentence has come without a straight trial and without any valid indictment because essential facts were not stated in the charges,” Subbarao told PTI,terming it a “total miscarriage of justice”.

“As the indictment was invalid,he should not have been sentenced. Buddhi,who is defending himself in US court,will now file an appeal in the appellate court in Chicago.”

Buddhi was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison and an additional three years of supervised release by a US court for posting hate messages in 2006 against Bush.

Subbarao said the US criminal Procedure laws required essential facts of the offence to be stated in the charges which was not done in his son’s case.

He said the first charge against Buddhi states “on or before December 30,2005 Vikram Buddhi knowingly and wilfully threatened to kill George Bush in violation of section 871 of title 18 US code”.

“But nowhere in this charge it was stated how he had threatened. The essential fact was missing and the indictment was invalid. As such,the trial was unfair and sentence should not have been pronounced,” Subbarao said.

Subbarao said only during the trial the prosecution had brought before the court the internet messages in question.

“The Supreme Court of the US has laid down that whenever essential fact of the offence is not stated in the charges,no additional document can be brought to support the indictment,” he pointed out. Therefore,in the opinion of US Supreme Court,the indictment must stand or can fall on its own. Subbarao hoped that Buddhi would get justice in the appellate court.