Man acquitted in 26/11 case moves Bombay High Court to secure right to work

Fahim Arshad Mohammad Yusuf Ansari, the only person acquitted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) in order to work as a commercial auto-rickshaw driver..The police had denied his application on the grounds that he allegedly has links to the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a claim that Ansari strongly denies.The matter was initially listed before a Division Bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Neela Gokhale, but the Bench recused itself from hearing the case. The petition will now be heard by a Division Bench led by Justice Sarang Kotwal on March 18..Ansari was arrested in December 2008 in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks while he was already in custody for a separate case in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. In that case, he was charged with offenses related to waging war against the country and was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served his sentence and was released in 2019. Despite his arrest in the 26/11 case, Ansari was acquitted in May 2010 by a special court, which found no merit in the charges against him, including the accusation that he had helped the masterminds of the attacks by preparing maps of Mumbai. The Bombay High Court upheld this acquittal in 2011, and the Supreme Court dismissed the State's appeal in 2012.After his release, Ansari initially secured a job at a printing press called Print Express Byculla, where he worked until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Due to the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic, he briefly worked as a food delivery executive..Eventually, he found another job at a printing press in Mumbra. However, due to financial constraints and the inability to support his family adequately with his earnings from the printing press, Ansari decided to pursue a livelihood by driving an auto-rickshaw.On January 19, 2024, he obtained a three-wheeler license and applied for a Police Clearance Certificate on May 18, 2024, which is necessary to obtain a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) Badge and legally drive an auto-rickshaw for commercial purposes. However, his application was rejected. When Ansari filed a query under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) in August 2024, he was informed that the rejection was due to his alleged membership in Lashkar-e-Taiba. .Ansari has questioned this before the Bombay High Court. In his petition to the High Court, Ansari states, "Refusing to award the Police Clearance Certificate to the Petitioner on the ground that he was a member of LeT is entirely arbitrary, discriminatory and an action seeped in prejudice."He further asserts that denying him the certificate violates his fundamental rights, specifically the right to livelihood and life guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. Ansari argues that, having already served the punishment for his conviction in the Lucknow case, he should not face additional legal barriers in the form of the Police Clearance Certificate rejection."The Petitioner having suffered the full impact of punishment, and paying his dues to the society for the offence he committed in the former, is legally entitled to engage in gainful employment, free from any legal blemish or barriers and the withholding of the Police Clearance Certificate without any basis in law or in fact is a violation of the rights guaranteed to the Petitioner under Article 19(1)(g) and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution," the plea readsThe petition also highlights that no material evidence was provided by the authorities to substantiate the claim that he has ties to LeT.Therefore, he has urged the High Court to direct the authorities to grant him the Police Clearance Certificate and for the Court to ensure that his arrest and trial in the 26/11 case are not used to deny him opportunities or public services.