Malegaon: While welcoming the announcement made by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, General Secretary of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind Mehmood Madani on Thursday said that the necessary action on the announcement should be taken as early as possible.

"The announcement to set up fast track courts for the Muslim youths who are languishing in jails is a decision in a right direction. But, it should not remain a mere announcement or poll stunt. Necessary action should be taken in this regard as early as possible", he said in a statement sent to ummid.com.

Stating that the announcement has been made after years of demands by Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind and other NGOs, Mehmood Madani said that mere announcement will not serve any purpose. "The announcements or judicial procedures not alone are important. Justice to innocents and without delay is what should be a priority for all of us", he said.

He said that the situation at the ground level is worst than what is actually reported by media or discussed in the government or private domain. "It is therefore needed that the decision to setup the fast track courts is implemented with full honesty. At the same time, the entire procedure is monitored continuously so that no innocent is suffered", he said.

He also said that besides speeding up the procedure to setup fast track courts a mechanism should also be announced for the rehabilitation of the innocents who were framed in false cases. "A mechanism should also be announced for the rehabilitation of innocents. Simultaneously, action should be taken against guilty officers so that such things are not repeated again", he said.

The central government has on Wednesday sought from all states the number of Muslim youths involved in terror cases lodged in jails while favouring fast track courts to deal with such cases.

Responding to a query on the need to set up fast track courts to deal with cases of Muslim youths held on terror charges, Shinde said his ministry has sent an advisory to states to find out how many such inmates were in prison and for how many years they had been there.

"We are trying to find out. It will take some time," Shinde said, adding that the centre was in favour of states setting up fast track courts.

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