The witness is a former friend of one of the accused bombers, Ajaib Singh Bagri.

The ruling was one of two which went against the media.

In the first ruling, Justice Ian Bruce Josephson rejected the bid to remove the publication ban so the key witness could be named.

The witness has given evidence against Bagri on three occasions since last winter. Justice Josephson noted the woman was assured confidentiality before she disclosed her information to authorities. The justice also cited the woman's concern for her family's safety.

He said the risk of harm to the witness outweighs the media's right to freedom of expression.

Justice Josephson also rejected a media bid to view a secret warehouse that contains wreckage of Air India flight 182, which was blown up off the coast of Ireland in June, 1985.

The trial will move to the warehouse for upcoming testimony sometime next week. But the public and the media are barred from attending. They will have to watch on closed circuit television