Stepping up his plea to make arrested terrorist David Headley a co-accused in the trial of Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam contended on Friday that Headley had not been tried under Indian law for criminal conspiracy before his conviction in the US in 2013.

Mumbai Police had filed an application before the TADA court last month through Nikam, requesting it to write to the United States Department of Justice to allow Headley to attend the next date of Ansari’s trial via video-conference.

On Wednesday, the court framed charges against Ansari for his alleged role in the 26/11 terror attacks.

“The US court is not competent to try offences under the Indian Penal Code. The charges for which Headley has been convicted by the US court and the charges we are pursuing against him are entirely different,” Nikam argued.

However, Judge GA Sanap pointed out that a foreign court’s judgement only had “persuasive value” and that the prosecution could not rely on it as evidence. “Are you relying on evidence collected by the US? He should have been made a wanted accused. You are coming with evidence collected by others,” the judge said.

Sanap also questioned why Mumbai Police had not launched an investigation after the US took custody and subsequently convicted Headley.

“What have you people done when the arrest was disclosed? You are relying upon facts that this man was in India for three years. Even after the judgment, what investigation has been conducted? For what purpose the judgment of a foreign court can be used as evidence?” he asked Nikam.

Nikam replied, “In US, there is no definition of criminal conspiracy as we have under Section 120 of IPC.” The TADA court will pass its order on November 18.

Headley was convicted in the US for conducting video-surveillance of locations targetted by the ten LeT terrorists in Mumbai in November 2008. He also surveyed possible locations in Delhi for a terror attack and communicated his findings to the LeT in Pakistan and his associate Tahawwur Rana in USA.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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