The men accused in the case and the judge who is presiding over the mammoth trial:
Alleged mastermind: Talwinder Singh Parmar
The alleged brains behind the Air-India bombings, Mr. Parmar was the religious leader of Babbar Khalsa, a militant Sikh separatist group, who came to Canada in 1970. Arrested in 1985 in connection with the attack, but released without charges being laid. He was killed by police in a shoot-out in Punjab in 1992.
Serving time: Inderjit Singh Reyat
Baptized Sikh in India when he was 16, Mr Reyat came to Canada in 1974. In February, 2003, received a controversial five-year sentence for his role in the downing of Air-India Flight 182, having already served a 10-year sentence for the Tokyo bomb that killed two baggage handlers the same day.
Acquitted: Ripudaman Singh Malik
Millionaire businessman alleged to be the financial backer of the plan to blow up Air-India planes. Has been heavily involved in charitable work in the Sikh community, founding the Satnam Trust in 1981 and later helping to set up the Khalsa Credit Union and the Khalsa Surrey School.
Acquitted: Ajab Singh Bagri
Fiery preacher and Kamloops, B.C., sawmill worker who called for the deaths of 50,000 Hindu "hell dwellers" as payback for Hindu-led Indian government's decision to send troops into the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The judge: Mr. Justice Ian Bruce Josephson
Presided over 217 days of evidence and legal arguments in the case, which ended in December. A B.C. Supreme Court judge since 1990, he is seen as a perceptive, well-organized jurist who understands legal arguments quickly.
