Bombay High Court dismissed plea by Faheem Ansari seeking PCC to run autorickshaw. Bench of A S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale upheld refusal by authorities as proper.
The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition by Faheem Ansari, who was acquitted in the 26/11 terror attacks case, seeking a police clearance certificate (PCC) to run an autorickshaw and earn his livelihood.
A bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale, while rejecting the plea, observed that the PCC had been properly refused by the concerned authority. The court said a detailed order would be issued later.
Ansari had moved the court in January of last year after his request for the mandatory PCC needed to obtain an RTO badge and permit was rejected. Authorities had earlier informed him through a response under the Right to Information (RTI) Act that the certificate could not be issued because of allegations linking him to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group. In September last year, the government, while opposing the petition, said Ansari was still under surveillance, and that this was the basis for denying the PCC.
Ansari argued that the decision was “arbitrary, illegal and discriminatory,” and maintained that it violated his fundamental right to livelihood.
The background of the case dates to the attacks carried out by 10 Pakistani terrorists across key locations in Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the Taj and Oberoi hotels, on November 26, 2008. The assaults continued for about 60 hours, killing 166 people and injuring several others. Nine of the attackers were killed.
In May 2010, Ajmal Kasab the lone Pakistani terrorist captured alive was convicted by a special court. However, the two Indian men accused in the matter, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, were acquitted for want of evidence. The charges against them were that they were co-conspirators and had aided and abetted LeT in carrying out the attacks. The Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court later upheld their acquittal.
Ansari was, however, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in another case in Uttar Pradesh. He was released after serving the sentence.
In his petition, Ansari said the PCC was denied on the ground that he was accused of belonging to a terrorist organisation, and argued that such a basis could not continue to block him from work after acquittal.
The plea said,
“The petitioner is legally entitled to engage in gainful employment, free from any legal blemish or barriers,”
It further argued that merely because he was tried in the 26/11 case, it should not operate as a general bar against pursuing employment opportunities, particularly once he had been acquitted by all courts.
He sought a direction from the court to order the authorities to issue him the PCC.
According to the petition, after being released from jail in 2019, Ansari found work at a printing press in Mumbai, which shut down during the COVID-19 period. He later obtained employment at a printing press in Mumbra (in the neighbouring Thane district). Since his earnings were low, he applied for an autorickshaw licence and received it on January 1, 2024.
Ansari then applied for the PCC, which is required for commercial autorickshaw operations. When no response was given, he filed an application under the Right to Information Act and was informed that the certificate could not be issued because he was alleged to be a member of LeT.
As per the prosecution, Ansari and Ahmed had prepared maps of the city and handed them to the alleged conspirators and masterminds of the attack in Pakistan. While acquitting them, the sessions court observed that better maps were available online.
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