Latest news with #Jamiat
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Jamiat looks back at 19 years of the 11/7 Mumbai train blasts' legal battle
Mumbai: A celebratory mood pervades the ground-floor modest Maharashtra unit office of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind, off a narrow street near Mughal Mosque in Dongri. Its legal team, which doggedly fought the case of the 12 convicts in the 11/7 serial train blasts case for nearly two decades, is busy greeting well-wishers. "We cannot describe the happiness after the acquittal of these 12 innocent men. We share the pain of the families of the blasts' victims, but justice can be done only when the real culprits are punished," said Jamiat's Maharashtra unit president Maulana Halimullah Qasmi. Now that the state govt has challenged the Bombay high court verdict in Supreme Court, Qasmi said, Jamiat will fight the case there too. "We need to receive formal requests from the families of the men who spent 19 years in jail." You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Founded in 1919 to oppose British rule with the blessings of scholar Maulana Mahmoodul Hasan, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind emerged as a nationalist organisation of Muslim religious leaders, mostly subscribing to the Deoband school of thought. It opposed Jinnah's theory of two nations and, post-Independence, championed social harmony and welfare. The Jamiat is one of the petitioners in SC opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Taking up the cause of "innocents framed in terror cases" has grown into a broad legal activity post-2000, especially in Malegaon, Mumbai, Aurangabad and Akshardham, where a series of terror attacks took place and investigators made numerous arrests and detentions. With two crore members, including 22 lakh in Maharashtra, Jamiat is one of the largest Muslim organisations in the country — membership costs only Rs 2. So far, Jamiat has secured 306 acquittals and 227 bail orders. Currently it is involved with around 100 cases involving nearly 500 accused, including 85 on death row and 125 serving life imprisonment. Recalling the organic manner in which its activities grew, advocate Shahid Nadeem, who is on the Jamiat's legal panel, said the impetus came when advocate Shahid Azmi, who was killed in 2010, met the organisation secretary (legal), Gulzar Azmi, when the latter's two sons were in jail in a MCOCA case. The duo met Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi to seek help for the 11/7 suspects. Azmi agreed to partially foot the legal bill and Jamiat president Maulana Arshad Madni ensured the rest of the expenses were met through community donations. The Jamiat split into two factions in 2008, with Madni's nephew Maulana Mahmood Madni leading the other faction, but the legal outreach continued. A battery of lawyers, led by Yug Mohit Chaudhary, finally managed to secure the acquittals in HC. Recalling the organic manner in which its activities grew, advocate Shahid Nadeem who is on the Jamiat's legal panel, said the impetus came when advocate Shahid Azmi (who was killed in 2010) met the organisation secretary (legal), Gulzar Azmi. Shahid approached the secretary at a time when the latter's own two sons were in jail in a MCOCA case. Shahid and Gulzar Azmi together met Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi to seek help for the 7/11 suspects. Azmi agreed to partially foot the legal bill while the Jamiat's all-India president Maulana Arshad Madni ensured the rest of the expenses were met through community donations. The Jamiat split into two factions in 2008, with Madni's nephew Maulana Mahmood Madni leading the other faction, but the legal outreach continued. A battery of lawyers, led by Yug Mohit Chaudhary, finally managed to secure the acquittals in the Bombay high court, where the case was admitted in 2015. As they prepare for the next phase of the legal battle, the Jamiat realises there is a long way to go. "Though happy at the acquittals, we are also shocked at the urgency of the state govt in challenging the HC verdict in Supreme Court," said Nadeem.
Hindustan Times
22-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
7/11 blasts acquittals: Defence team, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind's dogged pursuit of justice
Mumbai: In September 2015, five of the 13 men tried for their alleged roles in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts were handed a death sentence. On Monday, after 10 years on death row, the Bombay high court not only spared them the gallows but declared them free men. Seven others who were sentenced to life imprisonment similarly stood acquitted of all charges. While one accused died in jail in 2021, 11 of them are set to walk out of different prisons in the state in a matter of days. 7/11 blasts acquittals: Defence team, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind's dogged pursuit of justice It's been a dogged pursuit of justice not only for the accused but a team of defence lawyers that built a case for acquittal that convinced the Bombay high court. Two former high court judges and successful defence lawyers came on board with the help of the Maharashtra branch of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, a prominent organisation of Islamic scholars. Their collective skill, strategies and legal acumen led to the acquittal of the 12 accused, who were incarcerated for 19 years since their arrest in 2006. Lawyer Ansar Tamboli said that counsel Yug Chaudhry was central to the defence team. With former high court judges S Murlidhar and S Nagamuthu coming on board, the team was fortified. Lawyers Chaudhry and Payoshi Roy represented all the accused in the case and made common arguments for them during the morning and afternoon sessions of the hearings, respectively. Senior counsels Nagamuthu and Murlidhar, and senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan argued for two accused each and made their submissions before the court for two days each. Tamboli said that the Jamiat footed the litigation expenses. Before the defence team came on board, about five counsels had turned the case down on account of its volume or citing paucity of time, he added. 'We have been working on the case right from the time of the conviction in 2015. The counsels who appeared in the matter agreed to do so because they were convinced that the accused were falsely implicated. We showed them that the matter was full of loopholes and how the evidence fell short,' said Tamboli. He also said that the case was far more 'bulky' than an average criminal case and required a lot of preparation. 'On average, a criminal case has about 50 witnesses. But in this matter, there were 179 witnesses. There were 52 defence witnesses and two court witnesses. There were 169 volumes of documents, with each volume made of 400-500 pages,' he explained. The legal cell of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind was shocked when only one of the 13 accused was acquitted by the lower court in 2015. 'But our lawyers assured us that we should appeal, that there was nothing in this case,' said a relieved Maulana Halimullah Qasmi, president of the Maharashtra Jamiat. Desperate for legal representation, but unable to afford it, families of some of the accused had approached the Jamiat for help in 2006. 'We saw their financial condition—some of them had two families living in 10x15-feet rooms,' said Qasmi. The late advocate Shahid Azmi, known for representing clients he believed were falsely implicated, was also handling some of the 7/11 accused. Among his many clients was Gulzar Azmi, then secretary of the Maharashtra Jamiat. Two of Azmi's sons had been picked up under the draconian Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in another case; Shahid managed to get them acquitted. The young lawyer convinced the older man of the need for a legal aid cell to help Muslims. That was how the Jamiat's Legal Aid Cell was born. It has, till now, achieved 192 acquittals across the country. The Jamiat only takes up cases of those it believes are innocent, said Qasmi. 'Our legal team goes through the case papers. If we suspect that the accused is involved, we don't touch the case,' he said. 'Because, for us, the country comes first. Our maulanas have sacrificed so much in the freedom movement; we cannot support anyone trying to harm our country.' Known for its fiercely anti-British stand (hundreds of scholars were hanged during the 1857 war of independence; later, many were charged with sedition and executed or sentenced to life), the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind was formally launched in 1919. It supported Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress and opposed Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Partition. Post-independence, it emerged as the most influential organisation of Muslim clergy. For the defence of the 7/11 accused, the Jamiat hired a galaxy of well-known names: Wahab Khan, Yug Chaudhry, Sharif Shaikh, Nitya Ramakrishnan from Delhi, and former judges S Murlidhar (former chief justice of the Orissa high court) and S Nagamuthu (Madras high court). 'Most lawyers charge us much less than they would otherwise,' said Qasmi. 'They know we are doing this as a service.' The funds come from donations that the Jamiat receives, mostly as zakat (charity mandated on all Muslims). 'Because these are zakat funds, we have to use them very carefully,' said advocate Shahid Nadeem, who's been part of the Jamiat's legal team for 10 years. 'So, before taking up a case, we also collect information, through local units of our organisation, about the accused's own record. Also, we only help those who approach us and who are needy.' No lawyer has yet refused a case, and most of the high-profile lawyers who've appeared for the Jamiat have been Hindus, said Qasmi. Have they ever been criticised for the work they do? 'If someone questions us, we point out that arrest doesn't make anyone a terrorist. That needs to be proved in court,' he said. In the Nagpur session of the Maharashtra assembly in December 2014, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar had accused the Jamiat of promoting terrorism, asked for a ban on it, and made allegations against Gulzar Azmi. 'We had met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and had those remarks expunged,' said advocate Nadeem. Despite the nature of the cases they take up, they face no pressure, revealed Qasmi. 'Everyone knows us as the organisation that opposed Partition. We believe that all those who live in this country are part of one qaum (community); religion does not define nationhood.' The only man acquitted by the lower court in the case, Abdul Wahid Shaikh, has spent the last 10 years spreading awareness about the innocence of his fellow accused. He became part of the Jamiat's legal team, and also worked with the Innocence Network, a coalition of organisations that provide legal aid for those they believe have been wrongly accused. Today was a vindication of Abdul's crusade, but the acquittal isn't enough, said lawyer Sharif Shaikh. 'There must be a public apology from the state and compensation for those who lost 19 years of their life,' he added. 'We believed in the innocence of the accused, and our hopes were realised,' said Qasmi. 'But the question remains: who carried out those blasts? The families of those who died need an answer that the investigating agencies must provide.'
Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
19 years after he launched legal aid cell after son's arrest, Gulzar Azmi's fight ends in acquittal
It was the arrest of his two sons in 2005 that spurred septuagenarian Gulzar Azmi into action. Convinced that many young Muslim men were being falsely implicated in terror-related cases, Azmi set up a legal aid cell under the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a prominent organisation of Islamic scholars to provide legal support to the accused and their families. Nineteen years later, that legal cell has achieved its most significant victory as the the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted by the special court in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. At first glance, Azmi, often seen clad in a lungi with traces of paan dribbling from the corners of his mouth, seemed an unlikely figure to have led the defence of over 500 Muslim men involved in 52 terror cases across the country. Yet, from a modest two-storey office tucked away in the narrow, congested lanes of Bhendi Bazaar's Imambada area, he built what would become a lifeline for hundreds of families whose members were arrested on terror-related charges. Visitors to the office would wind their way past tied-up goats and the aroma of Mughlai food from street caterers to meet Azmi — many of them seeking not just legal help, but also financial support. Born in 1934 in Mumbai, Azmi had a religious education and had been associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind since the 1950s. He served the organisation in various capacities, helping launch developmental initiatives for the Muslim community. But his trajectory changed dramatically in 2005, when his sons Abrar, a perfume mixer, and Anwar, a construction site supervisor, were arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly extorting money on behalf of underworld figure Faheem Machmach. While his sons were in jail, the 2006 Mumbai train blasts took place, followed by the Malegaon blasts in September that year. Azmi's personal ordeal deepened his belief that many terror arrests were based on flimsy or fabricated evidence. 'People would come to our office and complain that innocents were being arrested. I had myself suffered this injustice. I thought, if my innocent sons were framed, may be the police was doing the same with others as well,' Azmi told The Indian Express in an earlier interview. It was around this time that Shahid Azmi, a lawyer who would later be assassinated, approached the Jamiat with the idea of taking up legal defence in terror cases. Maulana Arshad Madni, president of the Jamiat, asked Gulzar Azmi to head the initiative. 'In 2006, 43 Muslims were arrested on terror charges in Maharashtra. Some of the families wanted to challenge the application of MCOCA. A lawyer agreed to take up the case for Rs 3 lakh, but the families couldn't raise the money. The petition eventually failed,' Azmi recalled. The Jamiat decided to step in. Through community donations and Zakat funds (religious alms given by Muslims), it began financing legal defences. Each year, the organisation spends between Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore on these cases. Though the Jamiat maintains it only takes on cases after a thorough vetting process, only when it believes in the innocence of the accused, some of the individuals it has supported have been convicted. One such case is that of Muzammil Ansari from Malegaon, who was sentenced to life in prison for planting bombs in Mumbai. 'We are not naïve,' Azmi once said. 'We know the police often target individuals with links to SIMI. But let me tell you, these SIMI boys are only zabaan ke mard, loudmouths. They are not capable or intelligent enough to carry out such sophisticated operations. Just being a member of SIMI doesn't make someone a terrorist.' Azmi often cited his sons' case as proof of systemic abuse by investigative agencies. 'They spent two years, eight months, and 10 days in jail before being honourably acquitted. The court even permitted us to file a complaint against the officers who arrested them,' he said. Despite a special court convicting the 12 accused in the 7/11 train blasts in 2016, the Jamiat Lega Cell under Azmi's leadership continued its legal battle. The organisation enlisted some of India's top legal minds, including Yug Mohit Chaudhary, Senior Advocates Nitya Ramakrishnan, S. Nagamuthu, and Dr. S. Muralidhar to fight the case in the Bombay High Court. Azmi's activism also drew criticism and threats. BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar once called for a ban on the Jamiat, accusing it of underworld links. Underworld don Ravi Pujari even threatened to kill him. Gulzar Azmi passed away in August 2023 at the age of 89 before the High Court hearings began in mid-2024. Yet, his colleagues believe that the eventual acquittal of the 12 accused vindicates his life's mission. 'It was his aim to ensure that no innocent person ended up getting the wrong end of the stick,' said Shahid Nadeem, legal advisor to the Jamiat. 'Till his last days, he was involved in drafting the legal strategy for this case. He would have been very content with the verdict.'
The Hindu
04-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Clerics urge Muslim community to follow government guidelines for Eid sacrifice
Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, Muslim clerics on Wednesday (May 4, 2025) urged members of the community to strictly follow the government guidelines while performing sacrifice and avoid sharing pictures of slaughtered animals on social media. In his message to Muslims, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani said that there is no substitute for sacrifice in Islam as it is a religious duty. A person on whom sacrifice is obligatory must perform this obligation, he said. However, Mr. Madani said that in view of the current situation, it is important that Muslims take precautionary measures on their own and avoid advertising and sharing of pictures of slaughtered animals on social media. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Delhi, urged the Muslim community to refrain from performing animal sacrifices in open areas or on the streets. The festival is to be celebrated on June 7. Jamiat President Madani also urged Muslims to strictly follow the government guidelines while performing sacrifice, avoid the sacrifice of prohibited animals. He also said that if mischievous elements, at any place, prevent the sacrifice of a black animal (buffalo) also, influential people should take the administration into confidence, and then sacrifice should be offered. "If, however, there is no way to fulfil this religious obligation, then a sacrifice should be offered in a nearby place where there is no difficulty," he said. Advising Muslims to exercise patience and restraint in response to any provocative actions by communal elements, Madani stressed that such incidents should definitely be reported to the local police station. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Syed Shaban Bukhari, advised people to ensure cleanliness in their localities during the festival. "Just as festivals like Holi and Diwali are celebrated with dignity across India, Eid-ul-Adha too should be observed with respect and reverence," the Imam said in a statement. Mr. Bukhari further emphasised that during the festival, the Muslim community must remain mindful of a few key responsibilities. "Most importantly, no act should hurt the sentiments or beliefs of fellow citizens. Therefore, sacrifices must be conducted only within private premises such as homes or designated enclosures - not on roads or in open spaces," he said. He also appealed to the community to refrain from photographing or filming the act of sacrifice and strictly advised against uploading such images or videos on social media. "Islam is a religion of peace, and it is our duty to demonstrate this through our conduct by ensuring that no one's emotions are harmed," the Imam said. Further advising the community to remember that Islam teaches respect for all religions and instructs its followers to never hurt others' sentiments, he asserted that the ritual of sacrifice must be performed in a manner that upholds the rule of law and maintains communal harmony.
New Indian Express
04-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Clerics urge Muslim community to follow government guidelines for Eid sacrifice
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, Muslim clerics on Wednesday urged members of the community to strictly follow the government guidelines while performing sacrifice and avoid sharing pictures of slaughtered animals on social media. In his message to Muslims, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani said that there is no substitute for sacrifice in Islam as it is a religious duty. A person on whom sacrifice is obligatory must perform this obligation, he said. However, Madani said that in view of the current situation, it is important that Muslims take precautionary measures on their own and avoid advertising and sharing of pictures of slaughtered animals on social media. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Delhi urged the Muslim community to refrain from performing animal sacrifices in open areas or on the streets. The festival is to be celebrated on June 7. Jamiat President Madani also urged Muslims to strictly follow the government guidelines while performing sacrifice, avoid the sacrifice of prohibited animals. He also said that if mischievous elements, at any place, prevent the sacrifice of a black animal (buffalo) also, influential people should take the administration into confidence, and then sacrifice should be offered. "If, however, there is no way to fulfil this religious obligation, then a sacrifice should be offered in a nearby place where there is no difficulty," he said.
