New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) The Centre has appointed a high-level legal team, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, to lead the prosecution in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case against Tahawwur Rana.
The move comes weeks after Rana’s extradition from the United States, nearly 16 years after his arrest for his alleged involvement in the attacks that killed 166 people.
In a gazette notification issued on Thursday, Abhijit Sinha, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, stated that the Central Government, exercising powers under Section 15(1) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and Section 18(8) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, has constituted a team of Special Public Prosecutors.
This team will be headed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and will include ASG S V Raju, senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, and advocate Narender Mann already notified as Special Public Prosecutors.
They will represent the NIA before the NIA Special Courts in Delhi, the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court. Their tenure will extend for three years from the date of publication of the notification or until the trial concludes, whichever is earlier.
Tahawwur Rana, a former Pakistani army doctor and long-time associate of David Coleman Headley, the key conspirator in the 2008 attacks, was extradited to India on April 10.
He had been arrested in Chicago in 2009, months after the coordinated attacks in Mumbai that targeted multiple locations, including the Taj Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Following his arrival in India, Rana was remanded to NIA custody and later sent to judicial custody till June six by New Delhi’s Patiala House Court.
The NIA has already obtained his voice and handwriting samples for investigative purposes.
Dayan Krishnan, an expert in extradition law who led India’s arguments in the US court during the extradition proceedings, had earlier been appointed to head the legal team.
He also played a critical role in the proceedings seeking the extradition of David Headley and was part of the Indian team that visited Chicago to interrogate him.
Rana is accused of facilitating Headley’s reconnaissance missions in Mumbai and providing logistical support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who carried out the 2008 attacks.
The appointment of the new prosecution team intends to pursue a swift and robust legal strategy in one of India’s most high-profile terror cases.
UNI SNG SS