Need to be wary of terror inflicted by state on citizens: Ex-HC judge

The lecture series was instituted last year to commemorate lawyer Shahid Azmi, who was shot dead in his office at Taximen’s Colony in Kurla on February 11, 2010. Azmi had represented the accused in some terror cases, including July 11, 2011, serial train blasts. Some of his cases in which the accused were acquitted were also instrumental in challenging the use of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).

The retired justice said the use of state terror makes a common citizen feel helpless. Convicting innocent people, he added, for crimes they did not commit is a travesty of justice.

“Victims of state terror feel helpless. There is a need for reform within law enforcement to tackle this,” he said.
The memorial lecture was also addressed by advocate Shaheed Nadeem of the legal cell of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind that provided legal aid for Muslim men arrested in terror cases across the country.

Calling encounters a “misuse of police powers”, Nadeem said: “Every citizen, including the police, has a right to protect himself. But what is the point of killing undertrial prisoners in encounters?”

Nine years after Shahid Azmi was shot dead, the first witness in the case was now being examined, family members of the lawyer said. The police had initially booked five men, including gangster Santosh Shetty, who was subsequently discharged.

Lauding Shahid Azmi’s achievement to help create a legal cell for the marginalised and deprived sections of society, his brother Arif said, “I believe that his greatest achievement, even bigger than ensuring the acquittal of 17 innocent individuals, was helping set up a legal cell that now helps the most marginalised and deprived sections of society get justice.”