By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Thanks to the efforts of some Muslim religious leaders and lawyers that began five months ago, ice is melting though slowly in providing legal assistance to Muslims detained after serial blasts in court premises in Uttar Pradesh in November last year.
The bar associations of Faizabad, Barabanki and Lucknow where blasts were carried out on 23rd November 2007 have shown some flexibility. The bar associations had passed resolutions banning lawyers from pleading for Muslim terrorism suspects languishing in different jails in the state.
Talking to TwoCircles.net eminent lawyer Zafaryab Jilani, who is also legal adviser of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said, “Faizabad Bar Association has partly changed its resolution and allowed lawyers from outside to plead for the accused.” But they are still preventing local lawyers, Jilani added. “Some hindrance was from Barabanki bar association also but later it allowed and in the last hearing in Lucknow court there was no objection from association and lawyers were allowed to work on the case,” said Jilani who is also convener of Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC).
After the terror blasts on 23rd November on court premises in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow in which 15 people, four of them lawyers, were killed and over 80 injured, some bar associations had taken an unprecedented decision not to provide legal assistance to the accused in the blast cases.
The move was condemned as it was against natural justice.
Some Muslim leaders and lawyers, both Hindu and Muslims, gathered in Lucknow on March 16 this year to take stock of the situation. They urged the bar associations to lift the ban.
“A conference was held in March. Our demand was that lawyers, Muslims or Hindus, who are pleading for the Muslim terrorism suspects and accused, should not be prevented from doing so. They were being disturbed in some districts. The conference passed a resolution that if the bar associations do not withdraw their resolutions, we will approach bar council. And if it does not listen, we will approach the court,” said Jilani.
At that conference a group called Movement Against Terrorism was formed. The group has since organized 2-3 meetings to review the situation. Its next meeting is going to be held in Lucknow on 16th August.
Asked whether AIMPLB was supporting the group, Jilani said, “Not officially and collectively but individually; the March conference was attended by top leaders of AIMPLB and the convener of the Movement Against Terrorism is Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli who is also senior member of AIMPLB,” said Jilani to TCN.
“The March 16 conference was also attended among others by AIMPLB president Maulana Rabe Hasani Nadwi and Maulana Salim Qasmi,” Jilani said adding that AIMPLB is individually supporting the effort but collectively did not pass any resolution as it is beyond AIMPLB’s jurisdiction.
“AIMPLB does not pass resolutions on such issues. It has not yet passed any resolution on terrorism officially. But those who have done are part of AIMPLB. Darul Uloom Deoband passed a resolution against terrorism in February this year. They are member of AIMPLB,” said Jilani.