Toronto: Inderjit Singh Reyat, undergoing jail term for his role in the 1985 Air India plane bombing, is scheduled to go to trial next year for perjury in connection with his testimony in the unsuccessful prosecution case.
The May 7 date for his trial, who serving a five-year sentence, was fixed on Wednesday by British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm as Reyat watched the proceedings through a video-link from jail.
Reyat is charged with lying 27 times during his evidence in September 2003 as a Crown witness against accused Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted on all counts in 2005.
According to Reyat's lawyer Ian Donaldson, he was working with Crown prosecutors to potentially shorten the trial, which is scheduled to be heard before a jury.
Reyat, a former Duncan electrician, could be imprisoned for an additional 14 years if convicted of perjury. He had pleaded guilty of manslaughter for supplying parts of bomb that blew up Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, killing 329 on board.
He had earlier been convicted of building another bomb that blasted the same day at Tokyo's Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers.
Meanwhile, relatives of two victims pleaded before the Canadian Judicial Commission, headed by former Supreme Court Judge John Major, to bring out the truth behind the tragedy even if they were not complimentary to Canadian government and its interests.
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