Vancouver, Oct 07: The Air India trial was put on hold again as lawyers for one of the chief accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik, asked for more time for negotiations over how his legal fees were to be paid. Scheduled to resume yesterday, the proceedings in the case were put off till October 14. Malik's lawyers are to return to court on Friday to update the judge on the progress made in the funding negotiations.

Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are the two main accused in the bombing of the Kanishka flight which crashed off the Irish Coast on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 passengers on board. This is the third time in recent weeks that the case has been adjourned to give Malik's lawyers more time to reach an agreement with the British Columbia government to fund his 11-member legal team.

Malik's lawyers told the court significant progress has been made, but they need more time to reach an agreement, news reported.

Bureau Report