Bombay High Court Halts Document Fishing Expedition in 26/11 Trial

The Bombay High Court quashed a lower court's order to produce confidential documents for Zabiuddin Ansari, linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, deeming it an 'unsupportable fishing inquiry.' This decision enables the trial to proceed after being stalled since 2018 due to procedural document requests unrelated to Ansari's charges.

The Bombay High Court has overruled a special court's directive to submit confidential documents for Zabiuddin Ansari, known for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The court labeled this as a 'fishing and roving inquiry,' helping resume the trial halted since 2018.

A bench led by Justice R N Laddha highlighted that requests for documents like flight manifests and immigration records were unrelated to substantive charges against Ansari. They deemed such requests as derailing the trial.

The high court's ruling underscores the importance of timely trials in serious cases, indicating that the trial court misused its authority by demanding extraneous documents at the sole request of Ansari during the 26/11 terrorist attack trial.

(With inputs from agencies.)