Mumbai: Former National Investigation Agency (NIA) special public prosecutor Rohini Salian will appear as defence lawyer of Kalyan youth Areeb Majeed, who was arrested for allegedly travelling to Iraq and Syria to join the ISIS. “I have filed my vakalatnama (authority paper filed by an advocate to appear on behalf of client judicial proceedings) for Majeed on Tuesday,” said Ms Salian.
When asked about case details, Ms Salian said that she was going through the case papers and did not judge an accused beforehand.
Advocate Farhana Shah is already appearing as Majeed’s defence lawyer. With Ms Salian joining in, Majeed will have two experienced feisty lawyers appearing for him.
Though the NIA charged Majeed for allegedly joining ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the court in February 2017 dropped section 20 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (being member of terrorist organisation), saying the ISIS was not declared a terrorist organisation prior to February 16, 2015, when case was registered against Majeed.
Majeed last week moved the Bombay high court challenging the NIA court order that rejected his bail application.
Majeed contended that when the court has held that he was not part of a terrorist organisation, than he cannot be charged for committing any crime for being a member of a terrorist organisation.
He has sought bail on the ground that dropping section 20 of UAPA is change in circumstance and hence should be released on bail.
Feisty laywer
- Rohini Salian was chief public prosecutor in the sessions court in Mumbai and was also a special public prosecutor in many sensitive and high-profile cases.
- She hit the headlines in 2015 when she told a daily that she was under pressure from NIA to go soft in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
- Later, when NIA issued fresh list of lawyers and skipped Salian’s name , she left the Malegaon case.
- She was public prosecutor in the 2002-03 Ghatkopar and Mulund bomb blast case, 1992 JJ shootout case in which underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s aide was awarded death sentence, Sara Sahara Shopping Complex case etc.
