Kanishka case: Canadian court dismisses jury

A Canadian court has dismissed a jury in the perjury trial of Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person convicted in the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 passengers.

Justice Mark McEwan dismissed the jury before any evidence was heard on Monday in B C Supreme Court where Reyat appeared to face perjury charges.

Under the terms of a publication ban, the reason for the jury's dismissal cannot be reported. A new jury will be chosen from March 15. The dismissed jury was chosen last week in a rigorous selection process.

Reyat, who was released last year after serving more than 15 years in jail, is facing charges of lying 27 times at the trial of suspects Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted of murder and conspiracy in 2005.

Then he had claimed that he could not remember details of the 1985 bomb plot or the name of one of the men involved, prompting B C Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson to call him "an unmitigated liar."

If convicted, he faces a maximum of 14 years in jail.

The Air India Kanishka flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi exploded mid-air near the Irish coast on June 23, 1985, killing all the 329 passengers on board.