# Mumbai court begins trial in absentia for six 26/11 accused 2026-08-18T02:05:56+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets A Mumbai special court has initiated the process for the first trial in absentia in a terror case under the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, against six Pakistani nationals accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The accused include Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, along with Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa, and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the court issued a proclamation ordering the six to appear by August 18. Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti wrote to Nikam requesting the trial in absentia, citing Section 356 of the BNSS which allows proceedings against absconding offenders to prevent delays. The proclamation has been sent to the ministry of home affairs for publication through Interpol. The 2008 attacks killed 166 people across multiple locations in Mumbai. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Times of India and NDTV report the same facts without any discernible editorial slant, making this a uniform straight-report story. The coverage focuses on the legal mechanism under BNSS Section 356, the court's proclamation, and the August 18 deadline. Neither outlet highlights political implications or opposition criticism. The trial in absentia is a procedural step that could take years to conclude, given the accused are in Pakistan and unlikely to appear. What to watch: whether the court proceeds with the trial after the August 18 deadline passes without the accused appearing. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight news report with no slant, lists all details including names and procedural steps. - ndtv.com (neutral report) Brief factual report on police letter, no commentary or framing beyond the core fact. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T17:46:03+00:00. Tags: 26/11 attacks, Hafiz Saeed, Interpol, Mumbai, Ujjwal Nikam, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/mumbai-court-starts-trial-in-absentia-for-six-26-11-accused/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/mumbai-court-starts-trial-in-absentia-for-six-26-11-accused/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/