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Journalism of Courage
Seven years after the trial against alleged LeT operative and mastermind in the 26/11 terror attacks case Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal was stayed, the Bombay High Court on Monday paved way for its resumption before the trial court in Mumbai.
A single-judge bench of Justice R N Laddha passed a verdict allowing a plea by Delhi Police, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation and others that challenged the 2018 sessions court order which directed them to hand over “confidential” travel documents to Jundal’s lawyer.
Jundal, presently lodged in Mumbai Jail, is serving life imprisonment in 2006 Aurangabad Haul case in which he was convicted in 2016.
A single-judge bench of Justice Nitin W Sambre of HC had on April 2, 2018 stayed the trial in the case citing the trial court directive.
Before the stay, the trial had been underway for about a year, during which the prosecution examined nearly 76 witnesses, including Pakistani-American David Headley, who turned approver and gave details of the recce of conducted in Mumbai before the attacks.
The HC had in April, 2018 also stayed directives given by the trial court to hand over documents in question to Jundal’s lawyer and the Centre’s lawyer had said that it will produce the documents concerned in a sealed envelope for HC’s perusal.
The special Cell of Delhi Police had claimed that Jundal was arrested outside the Delhi Airport in 2012.
Jundal had claimed that he was arrested illegally while he was staying in Saudi Arabia and was brought to India.
After the custodial interrogation was completed by a special cell, he was handed over to Mumbai Police for probe into the terror attacks case.
Jundal filed an application before the trial court seeking certain travel documents to prove his allegation after which the sessions court had directed the authorities to furnish the documents.
Jundal had filed an application under Section 91 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for production and claiming copies of certain documents for preparing his defence in the Trial.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi Police and Central government, sought quashing of the sessions court order.
The authorities claimed that Jundal is a “dreaded and an international terrorist who has trained Ajmal Kasab and others who entered Mumbai illegally via sea route” and he “was handling all the terrorists via satellite phone while sitting in Pakistan”.
It was further argued that Jundal was produced before the magistrate as per law after he was arrested outside Delhi Airport while he was loitering and the magistrate had granted his police custody.
The central government claimed “privilege” over certain documents under Sections 123 and 162 of the Indian Evidence Act, in pursuance of the mutual understanding between two countries.
The prosecuting agency had also claimed that the trial court did not consider its objection to allowing such handing over of documents in proper perspective and the impugned order was “bad in law”
Justice Laddha found substance in the Centre’s petition and quashed the sessions court order.
