26/11 terror attack: Maharashtra government challenges enquiry against Rakesh Maria and others

Bombay High Court has decided to consider hearing the writ petition filed by Maharashtra government against Vinita Kamte -- widow of slain cop Additional Commissioner Of Mumbai Police Ashok Kamte, on merits of the case. Kamte was one of the martyred officers in the 26/11 terror attack and his wife has been in an ongoing battle to get details of the horrifying night when 166 lives were lost in 2008.

Under Right to Information (RTI) Vinita Kamte had filed for some information about the main control room on the night of 26/11. She had been denied this information on the grounds that the case was under investigation. She went in appeal and the appellate authority ordered that she be allowed to get inspection of the records of conversations between various police units and control room.

Kamte then filed a second appeal alleging that the material given to her had been tampered with. She also wrote to the State Information Commissioner stating that the material given to her did not tally with the one that had been filed by Mumbai Police along with the chargesheet in the 26/11 case against Pakistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

Her lawyer Sachindra Shete told the division bench header by Justice Naresh Patil, "there was an entirely trial held in 26/11 but we don't know which recording are correct. The one they gave us or the one which was used as evidence during trial." Kamte sought an action against police officers under RTI.

The state government pointed out that the then Information Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad did not give any finding and simply ordered the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to conduct an enquiry who in turn submitted a report after enquiring. The information commissioner then passed an order, without even giving a show cause notice to these officers, to institute a commission under Commission Of Enquiry Act against the then additional chief secretary Amitabh Rajan, then Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria and Vijay Mukane who was at that time the assistant commissioner of police at the police head quarters. This order was passed in 2014 but it was an year later that the state decided to challenge this order.

Although Kamte's lawyers opposed the fact that the state public prosecutor himself was representing these police officers while "they should have put up their own lawyers. Why should the state pay to defend them?" asked advocate Sachindra Shete representing Kamte. He also pointed out that the only reason Kamte has been persuing this is because she wants to know why the response teams did not teach the spot where Kamte and others were shot dead when its just a stone throw from the police head quarters.

The public pleader Abhinandan Vagyani however pointed out to the court that at this juncture the issue is not whether the information that Kamte got was right or wrong. "This is state governments petition challengeing the 2014 order. According to RTI act the commissioner can order an officer to give information and if the information is not given then the penalities can be composed. But information commissioner does not have the power to order a commission of enquiry."

The case will now be heart by the Bombay High Court on Thursday.