Vancouver: A Canada court has postponed the hearing of Kanishka bombing case in which all 329 people aboard the Air India jet were killed, to April 28 and re- imposed a ban on publication of recorded evidence.

The British Columbia Supreme Court on March 8 postponed the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of first degree murder, to April 28 from scheduled March 31, media reports on March 9 said.

Justice Ian Bruce Josephson while imposing the ban on temporary publication of pre- trial motions said it would protect witnesses from being threatened, according to 'Vancouver Sun' daily.

The ban will be in place until arguments in the case can be heard, it said.

Upset over the ban, media lawyer Dan Burnett said, "Its monumental for a Crown to come in without any notice whatsoever and stand up and ask that a ban be imposed on months of transcripts and boxes of exhibits that have been released publicly."

He said that outside the courtroom, Josephson acknowledged imposing the publication ban was exceptional.

"I recognize that this is quite unprecedented and has not been handled in the best of manners," the judge was quoted as saying. His concern, however, was protecting witnesses from possible identification, and the trial process in general, Josephson said.

Last week a third accused in the 1985 case, Inderjit Singh Reyat, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received five years in jail.

PTI