Maharashtra govt. refuses to give police clearance to man acquitted in 26/11 case

The Maharashtra government on Friday informed the Bombay High Court that it has refused to issue a police clearance certificate (PCC) to Fahim Ansari, acquitted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, as he remains under surveillance over suspected links to a banned terror outfit.

Mr. Ansari, who sought the certificate to obtain a badge to operate an autorickshaw, challenged the refusal, calling it arbitrary and discriminatory.

HC questions State

A Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad questioned the State on what legal basis the certificate had been denied when Mr. Ansari had already been acquitted of terror charges.

Public prosecutor Mankhuwar Deshmukh submitted that guidelines framed in August 2014 disqualified Mr. Ansari and a confidential report suggested that he was still under watch.

The matter is posted for Saturday as Mr. Ansari’s advocate did not appear.

Mr. Ansari’s petition said that after he was released from prison in 2019, he secured a job at a printing press in Mumbai, but the firm shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He secured another job in yet another printing press in Mumbra but due to insufficient income to sustain his family, he applied for a three-wheeler autorickshaw licence, which he got in January 2024. Following this, he applied for a mandatory PCC to obtain a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badge and the legal licence to drive an autorickshaw for commercial purposes.

When his application was rejected, Mr. Ansari filed a plea under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and received a response in August 2024 saying that his certificate was rejected due to his alleged involvement with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

“The petitioner is legally entitled to engage in gainful employment, free from any legal blemish or barriers,” the petition said.

In December 2008, Mr. Ansari was arrested in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, while already in custody in a different case in Uttar Pradesh for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.