‘ISIS module’ case accused creates ruckus in court, threatens judge

Special NIA Judge A A Joglekar recorded that the accused, Tabish Nasser Siddiqui, misbehaved after being physically produced in court, used “filthy language” against it before saying that he had “no respect for this court or this government” and threatened that he would “deal with” the judge and his family

MUMBAI: In a dramatic outburst, an accused in the Maharashtra ISIS module case on Thursday created a ruckus in a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, abusing and threatening the judge and prompting him to order that the accused attend court only through video-conferencing until further orders.

‘ISIS module’ case accused creates ruckus in court, threatens judge

Special NIA Judge A A Joglekar recorded that the accused, Tabish Nasser Siddiqui, misbehaved after being physically produced in court, used “filthy language” against it before saying that he had “no respect for this court or this government” and threatened that he would “deal with” the judge and his family. “His conduct is highly deprecated,” (sic) the judge said, directing that Siddiqui be produced through video conferencing until further orders.

Siddiqui was among four persons arrested by the NIA on July 3, 2023, after searches in Mumbai, Thane and Pune in the case registered by the agency on June 28 that year. The agency later charge-sheeted six accused—Siddiqui, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Sharjeel Shaikh, Aakif Ateeque Nachan, Zubair Noor Mohammad Shaikh and Adnanali Sarkar—alleging that they were involved in propagating ISIS ideology and motivating vulnerable youth to join the banned terrorist organisation.

The judge also referred to Siddiqui’s medical records, noting that a psychological test had been conducted at J J Hospital on January 13. A conjoint report dated October 5, endorsed by the chief medical officer and superintendent of Mumbai Central Prison, recorded that there was “no major mental illness at present” and that the findings were within normal limits. “Thus, it can be clearly gathered that Accused No 1 is merely pretending to have mental issues to evade trial proceedings,” the court observed.

The court also noted that Siddiqui was not represented by a lawyer and had refused to endorse the memo of appearance submitted by the legal aid counsel appointed through the Chief Legal Aid Defence Counsel Services. Despite this, the court noted, advocate Samyak Gimekar and advocate Sumit Kokate had been appointed to facilitate the proceedings on his behalf. Kokate appeared in court and sought a soft copy of the charge sheet and other documents to represent Siddiqui, and the court directed the prosecution to do the needful.

The NIA has alleged that Siddiqui and Barodawala took an oath of allegiance to a self-styled ISIS leader and were part of a larger international conspiracy involving handlers based abroad. It also alleged that the accused were attempting to motivate vulnerable youth from Maharashtra to further the terror organisation’s anti-India agenda.

During searches at their premises, the NIA claimed to have recovered electronic gadgets, documents and other incriminating material linked to ISIS, including propaganda magazines such as ‘Voice of Hind’ and ‘Voice of Khurasan’, besides finding social media posts allegedly related to the organisation.