Mumbai

A special court here on Wednesday pulled up the city police for not taking genuine efforts to secure the custody of gangster Anmol Bishnoi in connection with the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique.

Special court judge Satyanarayan Navander issued a show-cause notice to the investigating officer for not complying with a July order of the court directing the police to secure Bishnoi's custody.

The court said there has been a wilful disobedience of the order.

"Judicial orders are required to be obeyed by authorities entrusted with the administration of criminal justice. Once a lawful direction is issued by a competent court, it is incumbent upon the Investigating Officer to make sincere and bona fide efforts to comply with the same," the court said.

Anmol Bishnoi is presently lodged in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, in connection with another case investigated by the NIA.

Siddique was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan's office in Mumbai's Bandra East area on the night of October 12, 2024.

Anmol, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, along with two others, has been named as a wanted accused in the murder case.

He was deported from the US in November last year and was subsequently arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a separate Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and extortion case.

Siddique's family had filed an application before the court through their advocates Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani seeking a direction to the police to take the custody of Anmol Bishnoi in the case.

The police had last month told the court that Bishnoi's custody could not be obtained as the Indian government has prohibited his removal from Tihar jail for one year or till the conclusion of the NIA case, whichever is earlier.

The court had then asked the prosecution to explore the possibility of either producing Bishnoi through video conference or visiting Tihar jail personally to interrogate him so that the trial in the Baba Siddique case is not delayed.

In July, the court had issued a production warrant which the police said they had submitted to the concerned authorities in Delhi and the same was rejected keeping in view the government order.

"There is no explanation as to why no attempt was made to secure the presence of the accused through video conferencing or by adopting any other legally permissible mode as indicated by this Court," the court said.

It added that prima facie, the conduct of the investigating officer reflects deliberate disregard of the directions of the court.

"Before initiating any action, the principles of natural justice require that an opportunity be afforded to the Investigating Officer to explain his conduct," the court said.

It issued a show-cause notice to assistant commissioner of police Subhash Dhudhgaonkar seeking his response as to why appropriate action should not be initiated against him for prima facie wilful disobedience of the court order.

The court will hear the matter again on August 12.

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As many as 27 people have been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions for murder as well as relevant sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).