No pre-arrest bail for lawyer who ‘incited’ mob

Mumbai: Bombay HC refused pre-arrest bail to an advocate accused of instigating a mob that rioted in Trombay and attacked a police station. Justice Ajay Gadkari said that advocate Shamshuddin Jabali, who is also the president of the Kurla Metropolitan Magistrate’s court bar association, did not deserve bail. The mob had attacked the police station, set ablaze cop vehicles and damaged public property on March 18 as it was reportedly angry over a morphed picture of a religious structure that was posted on social media.
“According to me, Shamshuddin being a practising advocate, it was his duty to pacify the mob by advising that the criminal law has already been set into motion, and the law will take its own course,” said Justice Gadkari.“After perusing the record of investigation, it appears to me that he is one of the main conspirators in the present crime. Taking into consideration the serious allegations against him, the gravity of the offence and the larger interest of the public, he does not deserve to be granted pre-arrest bail,” added the judge.
Around 24 accused including MIM corporator Shahnawaz Shaikh were arrested by the police last month for the riots. According to police, Shamshuddin, Shaikh and others had approached the Trombay police for registering an FIR over the morphed photo. The police arrested a 20-year-old youth Arvind Arundudhiyar in the case. Soon, a mob of 100-125 persons gathered outside the police station and started demanding that the accused be handed over to them as they believed the courts will release him. Subsequently, the mob turned violent. Shamshuddin’s lawyers claimed he was neither present in the police station nor was part of the mob that indulged in rioting. The court said that though Shamshuddin’s name was not in the FIR as an instigator, the statements of two witnesses reveal that he had allegedly instigated the mob.