Bombay High Court: Was death row man allowed phone call? (Maharashtra)

Shaikh, held guilty of conspiracy in the 2006 serial train bombings, was sentenced to death by a special MCOCA court.

Feb 27, 2019, 06:25 AM IST

The Bombay High Court has asked prison authorities to reply by Thursday on whether they allowed death row convict Faisal Shaikh to make a phone call to his mother from inside the prison. Shaikh, held guilty of conspiracy in the 2006 serial train bombings, was sentenced to death by a special MCOCA court. A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and AS Gadkari, while rejecting emergency parole leave sought by Shaikh, had asked the Yerwada prison authorities earlier this month to consider his application to allow him to speak to his aged mother. The application was made on January 14, soon after prison authorities rejected his parole application.

2006 train blasts 188 lives were lost in the 2006 blasts

Advocate Farhana Shah, appearing for Shaikh, argued that Shaikh "could have been taken in police escort as parole was sought on grounds of his father's death". However, the prosecution opposed the plea, saying cases of all convicts except foreigners and those on death sentence can be considered for grant of emergency parole. The court agreed with the prosecution's contention. However, as regards the request for a phone call to his mother, the bench said, "We are surprised to note that this application is pending since January 14. Considering the nature of the request, immediate consideration of the application is mandatory." Shaikh is one of 12 persons convicted in the blasts case. He is alleged to have worked with Azam Cheema, LeT commander-in-chief, and is alleged to have received arms training in Pakistan.

Black Tuesday

Seven serial blasts had ripped through Mumbai’s local trains on July 11, 2006. 188 persons died while 817 were injured. Five persons were sentenced to death while seven were given life imprisonment. One person was acquitted.

Source: https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-bombay-high-court-was-death-row-man-allowed-phone-call-2724443 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Death row convict seeks permission to complete LLB in 7/11 Mumbai trains blast case (Maharashtra)

Written by Sadaf Modak |Mumbai |Updated: June 25, 2016 12:01:56 am 

As an undertrial, Siddiqui had enrolled for the LLB course at Siddharth College of Law under Mumbai University in 2014, after receiving permission from the MCOCA court. 

Ehtesham Siddiqui, on the death row in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case, has approached the special MCOCA court, seeking permission to pursue his studies. In a letter written from the Arthur Road prison, Siddiqui has said that having successfully completed the first year of his three-year LLB course, he had to miss the second- year examinations due to his conviction. Siddiqui and four others were sentenced to death in September last year for the train blasts. As an undertrial, Siddiqui had enrolled for the LLB course at Siddharth College of Law under Mumbai University in 2014, after receiving permission from the MCOCA court. In his plea, he has said that the examinations for his course are scheduled to begin in July. Siddiqui has said that till his death sentence is confirmed, he should be considered as an undertrial and not a convict as per law. An appeal is yet to be filed before the Bombay High Court in the case. 

Ehtesham Kutubuddin Siddiqui being escorted by the police to the court where he was awarded the death sentence in the 7/11 bomb blasts.

Siddiqui and co-accused Sajid Ansari, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, had both previously appealed to the Bombay High Court, seeking to be moved to Mumbai after they were shifted out of the city post their conviction, to complete their studies. In his letter, Siddiqui has also cited the Sunil Batra judgment of the Supreme Court which had laid down the fundamental rights of prisoners, observing that rights may suffer shrinkage due to incarceration but do not leave the person as he enters prison. The court has sought a response from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Siddiqui’s plea, adjourning the matter to next week.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/711-mumbai-trains-blast-case-death-row-convict-seeks-permission-to-complete-llb-2874045/ (Accessed 20 December 2018)

Death sentence given in India train blasts case

30 Sept 2015

Reuters 

Five get death penalty and seven jailed for life for planning 2006 Mumbai blasts that killed more than 180 people.

An Indian court has sentenced five men to death and jailed seven others for life for planning bomb blasts that struck Mumbai commuter trains in 2006, killing more than 180 people and wounding hundreds. KP Raghuvanshi, a former Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief, who had previously handled the case, welcomed Wednesday's sentencing, saying the court had recognised their investigation into the blasts.

"The whole case went on for nine years," he said. "After a long trial of nine years, the court has announced the judgement of the case. Five bomb planters have been sentenced to death by hanging and others have been convicted under different sections of the law for conspiracy, IPC [Indian Penal Code] Explosives Act, MCOCA [Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act]. The court has recognised our entire team's investigation." However, Gulzar Azmi, a representative of an organisation providing legal support to the convicts, said the trial was unfair and they would appeal in a higher court for justice.

"The real criminals behind the blasts have not been caught. They have given sentence to innocent people," he said. "It is the court's decision [to pass this judgement] but the High Court has shot down other such judgements by lower courts before." For his part, Yug Mohit Chaudhry, the defence counsel, said: "The evidence in this case is shoddy to say the least. It is not fit for conviction, let alone a death sentence." Indian police say the attack was carried out by disaffected Muslims at the behest of Pakistan-based armed groups, and named Lashkar-e-Taiba group's Pakistan-based leader, Azeem Cheema, as the prime conspirator.

Seven bombs went off within 15 minutes on the packed trains during the evening rush hour in India's financial capital on July 11, 2006, throwing the city out of gear and into an absolute state of terror. The bombs targeted an overcrowded suburban network that carries around seven million people a day.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/death-sentences-india-train-blasts-case-150930095309008.html (Accessed on 19 December 2018)