Two of the special courts in Mumbai designated to hear cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have said they are “overburdened”. One court, in a recent order, said it had 72 cases with 255 accused in jail. The pending cases before these courts include multiple cases where trial is yet to begin even after over 10 years. The accused in these cases have filed bail applications citing delay in trial. In some cases, they have sought to plead guilty citing among grounds the long time it may take for trials to begin and eventually conclude, adding to their years in incarceration even before they are found guilty. In one of the cases related to the 2011 Mumbai triple blasts, not just the accused, even the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the investigating agency, filed an application in August, seeking day-to-day hearing as the trial against the 11 accused is yet to commence 11 years after the terror attacks. On July 13, 2011, 27 people had died and over 100 were injured in three serial blasts at Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House. The prosecution has cited over 700 witnesses. Charges were framed against the accused in separate proceedings from 2019-2021 but the trial is yet to commence. On the plea by both the ATS and accused Nadeem Akhtar, seeking daily hearing in the case, the judge said his predecessor had passed an order on a similar plea that it is “difficult” to conduct day-to-day hearing as the court is "already obliged with hearing other time-bound and old matters". The court pulled up Akhtar stating that he had been filing applications on every date of the case and that he had "some hidden intention". It also rejected the ATS plea. "From the present application filed by the prosecution, it reveals that each one (is) trying to save their own skin. No substantive steps taken to proceed with the trial," the court said. In 2019, the Bombay High Court (HC) had rejected the bail application of accused Haroon Naik, observing that there was prima facie evidence against him while directing the trial to be concluded expeditiously. The bail applications of the accused, including Akhtar, are pending before the HC. In another case dating back nearly 10 years, the trial is also yet to begin. On August 1, 2012, five low-intensity blasts had occurred at J M Road in Pune. Nine men were booked under charges including UAPA. The accused face allegations including attempt to murder, conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of UAPA and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Last month, one of the accused, Munib Memon, filed for bail before the HC, citing among grounds the delay in commencement of trial. The HC said that considering the gravity of the offence and the role of the accused, his plea for bail on grounds of delay cannot be considered. "However, at the same time, we cannot be oblivious to the right of the appellant to an expeditious trial guaranteed to him under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Charges in this case were framed on 25th May 2022. Accordingly, we expedite the trial of the appellant and direct the learned Special Judge to conclude the trial as expeditiously as possible, and in any event by December 2023," the HC said. Memon argued that the prosecution had cited 107 witnesses and the trial would take time to conclude. In July, one of the accused, Sayyed Firoz, wrote to the court that he was repenting his action and wanted to plead guilty. The letter also states that his family has suffered due to his incarceration. He said his father passed away during the pandemic and his mother suffers from various ailments. His wife and children continue to face hardships as he has been in jail since 2012. The court is yet to hear his plea. Similarly, 23 accused have been booked in a case related to emails sent to media houses before the Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad blasts in 2008 allegedly carried out by the Indian Mujahideen (IM). Six among the accused are out on bail while the others remain in custody for 14 years. Here too, the trial is yet to begin. "Facing allegations of terror, the accused are not considered for bail and with the trials yet to commence even 10 years after their arrest, their custody amounts to pre-trial detention," said Tahera Qureshi, defence lawyer of Mohammed Zakir Abdul Haque Shaikh. Shaikh was acquitted after 14 years in the Ahmedabad blasts case. In February, a court in Ahmedabad convicted 49 people and acquitted 28, including Shaikh. His bail plea in the Mumbai court on the basis of this acquittal was rejected in August. Trial has similarly not begun in the Malegaon 2006 blast case, 15 years after the blast. The accused in the case were granted bail by the Bombay High Court in 2019 after six years in jail. Last week, Sharad Kelaskar, an accused in the Nallasopara arms haul case, also sought trial on a day-to-day basis. Kalaskar's co-accused Avinash Pawar was granted bail in August by the Supreme Court. The apex court observed that he was in jail for over four years and the trial was not likely to conclude soon. The accused in the case were arrested in 2018. So far, three witnesses have been examined. The court said that the prosecution was proceeding with the evidence. "In view of the heavy pendency of under trial cases, it would not be appropriate to proceed this matter on a day-to-day basis," the court said.
