Air-India bombing accused must pay legal fees: Court

One of the two men accused in the Air-India Kanishka bombing, Ripudaman Singh Malik, will have to pay his legal fees as he claimed to be a multi-millionaire at an earlier bail hearing, a British Columbia court has ruled.

Also see: The Kanishka Bombing: Complete Coverage

Turning down Malik's application claiming legal aid from British Columbia's provincial government, Judge Sunni Stromberg-Stein said "any percieved cash shortage is artificial and contrived."

Malik, who faces first degree murder and conspiracy charges along with co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri for the June 23, 1985 bombing of the A-I flight 182 that killed 329 people, told a bail hearing in December 2000 that he and his wife had a net worth of $9 million, the Toronto Star said.

"Malik can pay the balance of anticipated defence fees and he has the option of scaling back his defence team so it is more affordable," the judge said making it clear that Malik has enough financial resources from his clothing business and various real estate holdings.

Malik has claimed that he does not have any money to pay his legal fees estimated at around $ 4.4 million.

The judge called the evidence given by Malik and his family 'contradictory', 'unrealiable' and 'full of discrepancies' to diminish the value of his estate.