MCOCA court issues notice to Mumbai Crime Branch over Anmol Bishnoi custody

The Story in Brief

The special MCOCA court in Mumbai issued a show‑cause notice to the Assistant Commissioner of Police and the investigating officer after they failed to secure the custody of accused Anmol Bishnoi by video conferencing, even though his physical production from Tihar Jail was not possible. The notice came during hearings by Judge Satyanarayan Navander on a plea filed by Shehzeen, wife of NCP leader Baba Siddique, represented by advocates Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani, which sought action for alleged wilful disobedience of the court’s directions. The court said the investigating officer’s explanation was “wholly unsatisfactory” and noted it had directed alternative modes for producing the accused because the Government of India had restrained Bishnoi’s removal by an order dated 5 December 2025. The Crime Branch had obtained a production warrant and approached a special NIA court in Delhi, which rejected the request for physical production. The court said the compliance report offered no explanation why video conferencing or other legally permissible modes were not attempted, and sought an explanation before taking further action.

The Indian Opinion

The court’s reprimand underlines the expectation that investigating agencies follow judicial directions and consider alternatives such as video conferencing when removal is barred. At the same time, reporting or commentary that immediately attributes wilful misconduct to the investigating officer should be cautious: the Crime Branch did obtain a production warrant and was refused physical production by a special NIA court, and the prosecution argued physical custody was required for interrogation. The publicly available record shows the court found the officer’s explanation inadequate, but it does not fully set out what efforts were made or the Delhi court’s reasons. That lack of detail means definitive conclusions remain uncertain.

Original article: Baba Siddique Murder Case: Special MCOCA Court Issues Show Cause Notice To Mumbai Crime Branch Over Anmol Bishnoi Custody (www.freepressjournal.in)

This story was summarised and commented on by AI from the source linked above.