Latest news with #JamiatulUlema-e-Hind
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
2006 Mumbai train blasts: It started in a jail cell. Now, it fights to free those wrongfully jailed
LONG BATTLE: Wahid Shaikh, who helped found the network, was acquitted in the case in 2015. Soon, his role shifted from accused to advocate Besides its work on the 11/7 case, the Innocence Network India is helping other terror accused with legal aid A narrow, rain-soaked lane in Mumbai's Vikhroli leads to a small ground-floor room. Inside, a few chairs, a chatai, shelves of books, and maps of India and the world hang on the wall. This unassuming space is the 'secretariat' of Innocence Network India, a coalition of lawyers, prison-rights activists and civil society groups who work for 'the rights of those wrongfully prosecuted or convicted, especially under terrorism charges.' On July 21, when the Bombay high court acquitted all 12 men convicted of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts — also known as the 11/7 bombings — some credit was due to this little-known coalition that kept the pressure alive, along with the efforts of the Maharashtra unit office of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind. Wahid Shaikh, who helped found the network, is visibly happy, and yet combative, seated in his two-room tenement. It's where Shaikh, a school teacher in Nagpada, central Mumbai, spends most of his after-school hours running Acquit Undertrial, his one-man YouTube channel that amplifies cases of alleged wrongful prosecution and demands compensation for acquitted convicts. It was here that he recorded a congratulatory message for the accused and their families the night before the verdict. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Start planning your next adventure today Hotel Deals | Search Ads Browse Now Undo 'I was 100% sure HC would exonerate them. I recorded it before the order was pronounced,' says Shaikh. He should know. He was one of 13 men arrested under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for the train blasts. He spent nine years in Arthur Road jail before being acquitted in 2015. The only one to walk free at the time. Soon after, his role shifted from accused to advocate. On the day the prosecution sought death for eight and life terms for four, Shaikh was in court filing applications to allow two of the accused — Ehtesham Siddiqui and Sajid Ansari — to appear for their LLB exams. That day, he said, 'This is not the end of the road. There are more doors to knock on, and a longer way to go.' In the decade since, that road became his life's work. Outside of his teaching job at a school in Nagpada, Shaikh has devoted himself to helping undertrials and families left waiting as years passed. His journey from accused to advocate began in jail. Inside the anda cell, he read 10 newspapers a day in four languages, filed dozens of RTIs, and helped other inmates prepare their defence. He earned an LLB, an MA in English, and wrote 'Begunah Qaidi', a 400-page Urdu memoir that was later translated into Hindi and English and adapted into a film. By 2016, less than two years after his own acquittal, Shaikh had formalised his work by founding the Innocence Network, a coalition of lawyers, retired judges, activists, and filmmakers committed to fighting wrongful arrests and prolonged incarceration. The collective organises seminars, people's tribunals, and public campaigns for those caught in the crosshairs of terror cases. 'Innocence Network is an NGO for the exonerees, by the exonerees and of the exonerees,' explains Shaikh, 48. He adds that many of the RTIs he filed from prison helped him and the other accused during trial. 'We had to build our case from the inside,' he says. 'That became the foundation for everything that followed.' The idea came from innocence projects across the globe. 'Such networks by civil society groups exist in different countries. When we saw how many men were wrongly framed in terror cases and later acquitted by the courts as state failed to prove their culpability, we realised the need for such a network in India too,' says Sharib Aqleem Ali, co-founder and scholar-activist. Over the past eight years, Innocence Network has run mobile legal-aid clinics and awareness drives. But one of its most visible tools has been People's Tribunal, a citizen-led public hearing that highlights stories the courts often overlook. At the first such tribunal in Delhi on Oct 2, 2016, chaired by retired Delhi high court Chief Justice A P Shah, around 15 acquitted individuals shared testimonies and filmmaker Saeed Mirza was among the eight-member jury whose recommendations later informed Law Commission's Report No. 277. 'One of those recommendations was that India ratify UN Convention Against Torture, which it has signed but never formally adopted,' says Delhi-based lawyer and network facilitator Fawaz Shaheen. Another key recommendation was repeal of Section 18 of MCOCA, which allows confessions made in police custody to be admissible, an issue central to the 11/7 trial. A second tribunal, held in Kolkata in 2017, heard testimonies from 20 more acquitted in terror cases. The network has also compiled a dossier based on letters written by the 11/7 accused from prison, and continues to file RTIs to uncover procedural lapses and custodial irregularities. Regular meetings are held by the coalition that runs on pro bono support with mentors like retired Bombay HC judge B G Kolse Patil. As for the blasts case, the legal fight isn't over yet. Bombay HC order acquitting all 12 has been stayed by Supreme Court. And from this tiny room in Vikhroli, the battle continues.
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Jamiat looks back at 19 years of the 11/7 Mumbai train blasts' legal battle
Mumbai: A celebratory mood pervades the ground-floor modest Maharashtra unit office of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind, off a narrow street near Mughal Mosque in Dongri. Its legal team, which doggedly fought the case of the 12 convicts in the 11/7 serial train blasts case for nearly two decades, is busy greeting well-wishers. "We cannot describe the happiness after the acquittal of these 12 innocent men. We share the pain of the families of the blasts' victims, but justice can be done only when the real culprits are punished," said Jamiat's Maharashtra unit president Maulana Halimullah Qasmi. Now that the state govt has challenged the Bombay high court verdict in Supreme Court, Qasmi said, Jamiat will fight the case there too. "We need to receive formal requests from the families of the men who spent 19 years in jail." You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Founded in 1919 to oppose British rule with the blessings of scholar Maulana Mahmoodul Hasan, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind emerged as a nationalist organisation of Muslim religious leaders, mostly subscribing to the Deoband school of thought. It opposed Jinnah's theory of two nations and, post-Independence, championed social harmony and welfare. The Jamiat is one of the petitioners in SC opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Taking up the cause of "innocents framed in terror cases" has grown into a broad legal activity post-2000, especially in Malegaon, Mumbai, Aurangabad and Akshardham, where a series of terror attacks took place and investigators made numerous arrests and detentions. With two crore members, including 22 lakh in Maharashtra, Jamiat is one of the largest Muslim organisations in the country — membership costs only Rs 2. So far, Jamiat has secured 306 acquittals and 227 bail orders. Currently it is involved with around 100 cases involving nearly 500 accused, including 85 on death row and 125 serving life imprisonment. Recalling the organic manner in which its activities grew, advocate Shahid Nadeem, who is on the Jamiat's legal panel, said the impetus came when advocate Shahid Azmi, who was killed in 2010, met the organisation secretary (legal), Gulzar Azmi, when the latter's two sons were in jail in a MCOCA case. The duo met Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi to seek help for the 11/7 suspects. Azmi agreed to partially foot the legal bill and Jamiat president Maulana Arshad Madni ensured the rest of the expenses were met through community donations. The Jamiat split into two factions in 2008, with Madni's nephew Maulana Mahmood Madni leading the other faction, but the legal outreach continued. A battery of lawyers, led by Yug Mohit Chaudhary, finally managed to secure the acquittals in HC. Recalling the organic manner in which its activities grew, advocate Shahid Nadeem who is on the Jamiat's legal panel, said the impetus came when advocate Shahid Azmi (who was killed in 2010) met the organisation secretary (legal), Gulzar Azmi. Shahid approached the secretary at a time when the latter's own two sons were in jail in a MCOCA case. Shahid and Gulzar Azmi together met Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi to seek help for the 7/11 suspects. Azmi agreed to partially foot the legal bill while the Jamiat's all-India president Maulana Arshad Madni ensured the rest of the expenses were met through community donations. The Jamiat split into two factions in 2008, with Madni's nephew Maulana Mahmood Madni leading the other faction, but the legal outreach continued. A battery of lawyers, led by Yug Mohit Chaudhary, finally managed to secure the acquittals in the Bombay high court, where the case was admitted in 2015. As they prepare for the next phase of the legal battle, the Jamiat realises there is a long way to go. "Though happy at the acquittals, we are also shocked at the urgency of the state govt in challenging the HC verdict in Supreme Court," said Nadeem.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Muslims decide to challenge loudspeaker circular in HC
Mumbai: Stepping up their opposition to the police's move to remove loudspeakers from mosques, Muslim groups have decided to challenge the police circular of May 11, 2025, in High Court. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Led by former minister Arif Naseem Khan, several Muslim organisations, including Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind and Jamiatul Ahle Hadees, met at Sakinaka on Monday. It was decided to file a petition against the May 11, 2025, circular of the additional DGP regarding seeking permission for loudspeakers by places of worship. "The circular wants places of worship (mosques, temples, gurudwaras, churches) to submit property cards, proof of legal construction of the structures, and whether they are registered with the Waqf Board or charity commission. Though the circular claims to reiterate orders of the Supreme Court and High Court, the courts' orders do not demand proof of whether the structures are legal or not," said Khan. tnn
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mumbai petitioner Jameel Merchant is among the five SC will hear in Waqf Amendment case
Mohammad Jameel Merchant MUMBAI: Mumbai-based social activist Mohammad Jameel Merchant , known to have taken up public causes, is among the five petitioners who will be heard in the Supreme Court in the newly enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. The five petitions are: Maulana Arshad Madani of Jamiatul Ulema-e- Hind, social activist Mohammad Jameel Merchant, Mohammed Fazlurrahim, General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board , Sheikh Noorul Hassan who is Manipur National People's Party MLA and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. Incidentally, Marchant is the only petitioner from Maharashtra. 'I am lucky and feel honoured that I will represent Indian Muslims in the Supreme Court among other important personalities of the community including Owaisi and others,' he said. Merchant has earlier filed pleas against Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitish Rane for his hate speeches and against Hindu religious leader Ramgiri Maharaj for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohamed. The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 has replaced the Waqf Act, 1995 and renamed as Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UWMEED) Act, 1995. 'The new Act introduces representation of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards. The Act also says that any government property identified as Waqf will cease to be so. The removes the provision empowering the Waqf Board to inquire and determine if a property is waqf. The Act also allows the central government to make rules regarding registration, publication of accounts of waqf, and publication of proceedings of waqf boards. The Centre can also order an audit of the accounts of waqfs by the CAG or a designated officer,' he explained. Merchant said the newly enacted law has caused widespread anxiety among Muslims and others who value minority rights and are opposing it. He said he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will strike down the contentious provisions of the Waqf Act.
