ATS opposes case transfer plea

Special Public Prosecutor Kalpana Chavhan said,“The sessions court has complete powers to hear the case under section 13 (1) of the Official Secrets Act and thus it was correct that the trial should be carried out before the sessions judge.”

Shafi is lodged at the Arthur Road Prison since his arrest on October 11,2007,by the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai police under the Officials Secrets Act. The police had seized several CDs and DVDs containing pictures of Defence and other vital installations. The ATS alleged that Shafi was working for the ISI and was collecting and disseminating information to the other country.

The plea filed by Shafi states that the Official Secrets Act is a special statue and a mandate for special procedure for trial is laid out in it. Accordingly as per the Act the offence has to be tried by a magistrate empowered by a government order. Further the plea said it is the choice of the accused to opt for a trial at the session’s court. However,consent of the accused was not taken by the magistrate court at the time of committing the case thus it is bad in law for the trial to continue before the sessions court.

The plea is likely to come up for hearing before the court on April 16 when both sides are likely to argue. Shafi used to stay with his mother and two younger brothers. He was earning a salary of Rs 2,500 per month before being arrested by the ATS near the Govandi railway station. Shafi is alleged to have visited Karachi during 2005-06 and was gathering information on defence installations in the city. At the time of arrest the police recovered two CDs with pictures of Indian naval ships and a 2006 directory of Indian navy officials.