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APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc 4 As against this, the learned APP supported the impugned judgment and order by contending that by adducing cogent and trustworthy evidence, the prosecution is successful in proving the guilt to the hilt.

5 I have considered the submissions so advanced and perused the record and proceedings including oral as well as documentary evidence. Both the appellants/accused persons are convicted of the offence punishable under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, which deals with punishment for conspiracy etc. of the terrorist activities. Conspiring, attempt to committing, advocating, advising, abetting, inciting or facilitating a terrorist act or any act preparatory to the commission of the terrorist act is made punishable by this Section and the sentence which can be imposed for this offence ranges from 5 years to imprisonment for life apart from liability to pay fine. The term "terrorist act' is defined by Section 15 of the said Act which reads thus :

11 Now let us examine whether the prosecution has proved interception of telephonic conversation from the targeted mobile phones and whether such intercepted conversation demonstrate indulging in conspiracy, advocating, advising or inciting commission of terrorist act or any act preparatory to APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc commission of the terrorist act by the appellants/accused persons or any of them. It will have to be seen whether it is proved by the prosecution that the appellants/accused persons had indulged in any act preparatory to commission of the terrorist act with intent to strike terror in the people by using inflammable substance to cause or likely to cause death or injuries to persons and loss, damage or destruction to the property. For this purpose, the prosecution is heavily relying on the evidence of PW7 Rajesh Kasare, Assistant Police Inspector and PW8 Datta Gawade, Assistant Police Inspector, working with the Anti-Terrorist Squad of Mumbai Police. Evidence of both these witnesses makes it clear that they were entrusted with duty to intercept the phone calls, to record the conversation and to prepare two Compact Disks of the recorded conversation. One of such Compact Disk, as seen from their evidence, was to be given to Shri Banerjee, Senior Police Inspector, and another to PW9 Vijay Kadam, Police Inspector, working with the Anti-Terrorist Squad. Evidence of PW9 Vijay Kadam, Police Inspector, shows that he was authorised to monitor the telephonic conversation with the help of his technical APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc personnels and human resources, on receipt of the order Exhibit 137 under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. PW9 Vijay Kadam, Police Inspector, deposed that accordingly he gave mobile phone number 9323947342 to the technical unit of the Anti-Terrorist Squad where PW7 Rajesh Kasare, Assistant Police Inspector and PW8 Datta Gawade, Assistant Police Inspector were working, being entrusted with the duty to record the conversation from mobile phone number 9323947342 in the mission called as "Operation Yatra". PW7 Rajesh Kasare, Assistant Police Inspector and PW8 Datta Gawade, Assistant Police Inspector working with the Anti-Terrorist Squad have recorded conversation made from that mobile phone number from 5.51 p.m. of 6th March 2010 to 6.11 p.m. of 12th March 2010. In all ten telephonic conversations from this mobile phone number were intercepted and recorded. Evidence of both these witnesses shows that they had then prepared transcript of the telephonic conversation from mobile phone number 9323947342.

APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc 20 The duly proved transcript of telephonic conversation from targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 are at Exhibits 47 to 51C. The first intercepted conversation is of 17.51 hours of 6th March 2010, the transcript whereof is at Exhibit 45. It was a call to the targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 from unknown number. The caller was asking appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu about progress in the matter of obtaining passport to appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu. The next call to this targeted mobile phone bearing number 9323947342 was from the Uncle based in Pakistan from mobile phone number 5044. It was at 19.57 hours of 6 th March 2010. The transcript of this recorded call is at Exhibit 46. Perusal of this transcript shows that the Uncle based at Pakistan was advising appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to purchase one mobile phone Sim card in the name of another person and not to disclose that phone number to anybody else. Progress in the matter of obtaining passport by appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu was also asked by the caller. He was told by the APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc caller to arrange for 2 to 4 friends for executing the work. It was assured that the caller will arrange for money. Upon that, appellant/accused Abdul Latif @ Guddu informed the caller that by Friday he will tell his two associates the time to set fire. The next intercepted call was at 15.20 hours of 7 th March 2010. It was from the targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 to the mobile phone number 9773084167 which was seized from appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan vide Seizure Panchnama Exhibit 31 on 13th March 2010. The transcript of this recorded conversation is at Exhibit 47. During this call, appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu was telling appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan that he will give details about the work of setting fire afterwards. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu was telling appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan not to call by his own telephone number. The conversation reflects that work of setting fire to some building was entrusted by appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan. Thereafter, the prosecuting agency has recorded the telephonic call in between targeted mobile phone number APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc 9323947342 and international telephone number 5044. This was a call at 19.04 hours of 9th March 2010. Transcript conversation at Exhibit 48 of this recorded call goes to show that the Uncle was asking appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu as to what work he can do. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu answered that he can do any work entrusted to him. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu asked the Uncle as to whether he should blast out the ONGC building and upon that the caller/Uncle informed appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to set that building on fire. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu then informed the caller/Uncle that he will do this work and he has one associate for executing this work. The subsequent call recorded at 19.38 hours of 10th March 2010 is between the targeted number 9323947342 seized from appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu and mobile phone number from Pakistan bearing number 923072674692. The recorded conversation is transcripted and the said transcript is at Exhibit 49. Perusal of this transcript shows that during that call, the Uncle was questioning appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc Guddu as to whether the entrusted work is done. Then appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu had asked the caller/Uncle as to whether the Thakur Mall should be targeted. He also informed the caller/Uncle that behind the Thakur Mall there is a colony of rich Gujarati persons. The Uncle then cautioned him to speak briefly and advised him to sent a message. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu then informed the caller/Uncle that he is purchasing a new Sim card for having detailed conversation. Then the next call intercepted by the prosecuting agency is of 23.07 hours of 10 th March 2010. It was from the targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 which was in possession of appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to the mobile phone number 9773084167 which was in possession of appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan. The transcription of this intercepted conversation is at Exhibit 50. In this detailed conversation of six minutes and 2 seconds duration, both appellants/accused persons were talking about conspiracy to set fire at Thakur Mall and the nearby colony by pouring petrol. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu was telling APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan to execute the work of setting fire at the Thakur Mall and the nearby colony by asking as to how much expenditure is required to be incurred for getting this work done. Appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan by referring the inflammable substance as water was telling appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu that about 30 to 35 litres of water would be required to execute this operation. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu, as seen from this intercepted conversation, had assured appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan that he will pay all money which is required for execution of the work and had advised appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan to go underground for about one or two months after finishing the mission. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu had categorically informed appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan during this telephonic talks that lot of money would be paid if the work entrusted is executed, but it should be done at any cost by keeping secrecy, by not even disclosing the same to the family members. This telephonic conversant indicates that appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan was intending to flee APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc from the country after executing the work, along with his fiance. The telephonic call exchanged between the targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 which was in possession of appellant/ accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu and the mobile phone bearing number 9773084167 which was in possession of appellant/ accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan came to be recorded at 17.29 hours on 12th March 2010 came to be intercepted and recorded. The transcript thereof is at Exhibit 51A. Perusal of the transcript of this intercepted call shows that appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu had informed appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan to text him the full address of the colony situated behind the Thakur Mall which was to be set ablaze. It was informed by appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to appellant /accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan that he has demanded the money for execution of this work and had cautioned appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan that the work should be executed. Appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan assured that the work of setting fire to the colony will be done positively. At about 17.31 hours of 12th March 2010, there was a call exchange between the APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 possessed by appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu and the mobile phone number 9773084167 possessed by appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu asked whether the Sim card of mobile phone number which is being used by appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan is standing in his name. When appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan informed that the mobile phone number is in his own name, appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu had requested appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan to give some other mobile phone number which is not registered in the name of appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan. Appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan assured to give another mobile phone number to appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu. Then, at about 18.11 hours of 12th March 2010, there was telephonic conversation between appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu who was holding targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 and the Uncle based in Pakistan holding the Pakistani mobile phone number 923072674692. Transcript of this APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc intercepted call is at Exhibit 51C. The caller Uncle asked appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu as to the progress of work of obtaining passport by appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu. He advised appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to bribe the concerned for getting the passport early. 21 If the conversation recorded in the intercepted calls, the transcripts whereof are at Exhibits 45 to 51C is appreciated in proper perspective, then it is clearly revealed that the appellants/accused persons along with the Uncle based at Pakistan were indulging in conspiracy of committing the terrorist act in Mumbai with intent to strike terror in the minds of people at large by using inflammable substance for causing death of persons and destruction of property apart from disruption of supplies of services essential to the life of community. It is clearly reflected from the intercepted conversation that the Uncle based at Pakistan had entrusted the work of commission of terrorist act at Mumbai to appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu and in turn, appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu had entrusted APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc execution of this work to appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan. The telephonic conversation intercepted by the prosecuting agency indicates that appellants/accused persons were planning to set the Thakur Mall, the colony adjacent to Thakur Mall as well as the building of the ONGC on fire. The meticulous planning was being made by deciding to use 30 to 35 litres of inflammable substance which was deliberately referred to as water in the telephonic conversation. The telephonic conversation indicates that the Uncle based at Pakistan was taking due caution by instructing appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu to have a brief talk in the matter instead of narrating the entire details. This was obviously done to avoid detection of conspiracy which was being hatched by appellants/accused persons with the aid and assistance of the Uncle based at Pakistan. The material gathered by the prosecution in the form of the telephonic conversation shows that the appellants/accused persons were intending to execute the act with intent to strike terror in the people by using inflammable substance for causing death or injuries to the people at large apart from mass APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc destruction of property. The conspiracy to commit the terrorist act is writ large from the intercepted telephonic conversations. 22 Now let us examine whether the intercepted telephonic conversations from the mobiles phones having the targeted mobile phone number 9323947342 and mobile phone number 9773084167 which were ultimately seized from both appellants/accused persons vide Seizure Panchnama Exhibit 31 belong to appellants/accused persons. For this purpose, the Investigating Officer had collected sample of voice of both appellants/accused persons after their arrest. This was done in presence of panch witness PW22 Satpal Singh by PW26 Subhash Dudhgaonkar, Police Inspector, Anti-Terrorist Squad. Both the appellants/accused persons were directed to talk on the telephones and their voice came to be recorded in the tape recorders attached to another telephone. The appellants/accused persons were asked to read from the written pages given to them. The recorded conversation from the cassette was got verified in presence of the panch witnesses by playing those cassettes, and APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc subsequently, those cassettes were sealed. All these events were recorded in the panchnama of taking voice samples, by seizing cassettes, which is at Exhibit 118. Perusal of evidence of PW22 Satpal Singh - panch witness and the Investigating Officer PW26 Subhash Dudhgaonkar, Police Inspector, Anti-Terrorist Squad, leaves no doubt in the mind in respect of collection of voice samples of the appellants/accused persons by following due process by the prosecuting agency. The voice samples so collected were then sent for audiometry report to the Forensic laboratory by the investigating agency. The report sent by the Forensic laboratory upon examining the voice samples of the intercepted telephonic conversations is to the following effect :

The sanction order in the case in hand is clearly reflecting application of mind, and as such, this court needs to accept the same as a valid sanction for prosecuting the appellants/accused persons.

31 The net result of foregoing discussion requires me to hold that the prosecution has established its case regarding indulgence in conspiracy to commit terrorist act by the appellants/accused persons persons as well as commission of act preparatory to commission of terrorist act by them. It is also proved that appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu was advocating and advising as well as inciting the others for commission of terrorist act. Appellant/accused no.1 Abdul Latif @ Guddu, on proof of the offence punishable under Section 18 of the U.A.P.Act, is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 12 APPEAL-187-2016-APPA-979-2017-J.doc years, whereas appellant/accused no.2 Riaz Ali @ Riyan is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. Fine is also imposed on both of them apart from default sentence, as indicated in the opening paragraph of the judgment. Considering the gravity and seriousness of offence proved to have been committed by the appellants/accused persons, the sentence imposed on them is perfectly correct and requires no interference. 32 In the result, the appeal fails, and therefore, the following order :