The acquittal of the accused in the July 11, 2006 terror attack on Mumbai's suburban railway commuters has created a political storm with parties facing Muslim anger over their support for an appeal against the Bombay High Court order.
Varsha Gaikwad, president of the Mumbai unit of the Congress and Member of Parliament from the city, has been criticised by Muslim leaders and organisations after she said that the Maharashtra government should file an appeal against the order in the Supreme Court. The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi, said that she hoped the state government will challenge the verdict. "This is very sad; instead of giving them the death penalty, they have been acquitted," said Chaturvedi who blamed the investigative agencies for the adverse order.
Both the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) had sought Muslim votes in the elections for the current legislative assembly. Their support for an appeal against the court order has been considered a betrayal by their Muslim voters. Gaikwad especially has been at the receiving end of Muslim leaders' criticism for her views.
Yusuf Abrahani, a lawyer and former Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly who recently joined the Samajwadi Party, said that the court passed the order after looking at the evidence presented before it. "It is a 671-page order. Gaikwad criticised the investigation agencies for the presentation of evidence. She said that the home ministry should consult lawyers and find out what went wrong. She has hurt the Muslim community by asking the government to appeal against the order," said Abrahani. "You should respect the judgement of the Bombay High Court, the highest court in the state which arrived at the conclusion after looking at the evidence."
The High Court's order, delivered on Monday, severely criticised the police for presenting insufficient evidence and conducting a poor investigation. This led to the court overturning the lower court's verdict that had sentenced five individuals to death and seven others to life imprisonment.
Other community leaders accused Gaikwad of using Muslim votes to win elections while disowning them in a legal battle. Maulana Obaidullah Khan Azmi, vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law BoaCoonrd and former Rajya Sabha member, asked Muslims to demand an apology from the MP.
Some Muslim leaders were of the opinion that the government should not file an appeal and accept the order of the High Court. Abdul Haseeb, vice president of Jamaat E Islami, said that the accused have spent 19 years in jail. "We are saying that if justice is delayed, it is denied. The men have already been punished. Innocent men have spent years away from their homes and families," said Haseeb.
Abrahani said that while the Supreme Court can admit the appeal and order a retrial, the case should be reinvestigated by a special team so that the real culprits are brought to book. Former MP Hussain Dalwai said that Gaikwad made the statement without reading the court verdict. He pointed out that despite a 45,500-page police charge sheet, not a single strong piece of evidence was presented, proving the innocence of the youths who spent nearly two decades in jail.
There are Muslims who believe that Gaikwad said nothing wrong. Akram Khan, a resident of Kurla, said that the country's legal system allows every citizen to file an appeal against a court order. "So if somebody says that the government should appeal against the High Court order, it should not bother others. The High Court order should be respected. It is the investigation agencies against whom questions are being raised," said Khan.
Ishtiaq Khan of the Al-Ansar Foundation, was of the opinion that since Gaikwad won her parliamentary seat with Muslim support, she should have respected her voters. Akram Khan disagreed. "It is true that she won with Muslim support. The Muslims are a vote bank for the Congress. However, what she said was an opinion. We are a secular democracy," said Khan.
