MOHAMMED SHIYAB Vs. NATIONAL INVESTIGATING AGENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India read with Sec. 482 of Cr.P.C., is filed by accused No.1 in Spl.C.C.No.123/2023 on the file of the XLIX Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge (Special Court for trial of NIA cases), CCH-50, Bengaluru, ('Special Court' for short) challenging the order dtd. 13/3/2023.

(2.) The writ petition has the factual background that the petitioner and other accused are being tried in relation to an offence of homicidal death of Praveen Nettaru on 26/7/2022 at Bellare, Puttur Taluk, Dakshina KannadaMangaluru. The first information was lodged by Madhukumar and FIR was registered in Crime No.63/2022 for the offence punishable under Sec. 302 of IPC. Later on, the investigation was taken over by the National Investigating Agency by virtue of the order passed by the Ministry of Home Af fairs, Government of India on 3/8/2022 and the case was registered as RC 36/2022/NIA/DLI for the offences punishable under Ss. 16, 18 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 ('UAP Act' for short) and Ss. 120B and 302 read with Sec. 34 of IPC. NIA filed charge sheet against 20 accused persons after investigation.

(3.) When the investigation was in progress, one accused by name Mohammed Jabir was arrested and produced before the court on 7/11/2022 and remanded to police custody till 14/11/2022. While he was in police custody, he expressed his desire to give a confession statement under Sec. 164 of Cr.P.C., and therefore the NIA filed an application before the Special Court for recording the confession statement of Mohammed Jabir, who is accused No.18. The Special Court directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate to record the confession statement and it was recorded also. When Mohammed Jabir was produced before the court on 7/2/2023 from judicial custody, he made a submission before the Special Court about illtreatment given to him by the NIA officers on 6/11/2022 and from 7/11/2022 to 14/11/2022 for compelling him to give statement in the way they wanted. When accused No.18 made such a submission before the Special Court, the petitioner who is accused No.1 got filed an application on 17/2/2023 under Sec. 91 of Cr.P.C., seeking a direction to NIA to produce the CCTV footages dtd. 6/11/2022 at Madiwala FSL office and CCTV footages of NIA office for the period from 7/11/2022 to 14/11/2022, and also to direct the NIA officials Sri Shanmugam, Mahesh and Man junath and the concerned advocate to provide details of their official and personal mobile numbers with their service providers and their call detail recordings (CDRs) for the period from 7/11/2022 to the date of filing of charge sheet. The Special Court dismissed the said application by the impugned order and hence this writ petition.