The trial against Zabiuddin Ansari, also known as Abu Jundal, who played a role in training the terrorists involved in the devastating 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is set to move forward. The Bombay High Court recently quashed a 2018 directive from a lower court that would have compelled authorities to disclose confidential documents to the accused.
A judicial bench, led by Justice R N Laddha, supported the petitions filed by the Delhi Police, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Ministry of External Affairs. These authorities had challenged the trial court’s earlier order to provide specific sensitive documents requested by Ansari. The trial against Ansari concerning the 26/11 attacks had been on hold since 2018, awaiting the resolution of this legal challenge.
Ansari is accused not only of planning the attacks but also of personally instructing the ten Pakistani terrorists who infiltrated Mumbai on November 26, 2008. He allegedly taught them Hindi and provided crucial details about the city’s layout to aid their infiltration. Ansari had petitioned a special court in Mumbai for documents to support his claim of being arrested in Saudi Arabia and subsequently deported to India. The trial court had complied with this request in 2018.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police stated that Ansari, an operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was apprehended shortly after arriving in the national capital. The Bombay High Court’s recent ruling, siding with the government’s petition to quash the trial court’s order, allows the trial to proceed. The 26/11 attacks, which claimed 166 lives, were carried out by ten heavily armed terrorists who arrived via the Arabian Sea. Investigators believe Ansari acted as a handler for these terrorists.
The sole surviving terrorist from the attacks, Ajmal Kasab, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010, and was executed in 2012. Ansari faces numerous terror-related charges from various law enforcement agencies across India. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 for his involvement in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case. Furthermore, Ansari’s voice was reportedly intercepted giving instructions to the terrorists during the 26/11 attacks. He was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in June 2012.