CDR case: Lawyer released by Thane cops after HC order

Acting on a directive of the Bombay High Court, the Thane Police this afternoon released from their custody advocate Rizwan Siddiqui, arrested for alleged illegal possession of the call detail records (CDRs) of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife.

Earlier in the day, a bench of Justices S C Dharamadhikari and P D Naik held that in arresting Rizwan Siddiqui, the police had acted in a "high-handed" manner and failed to follow "due process of law".

It had asked the police to release him by 5 pm today.

Crime Branch officials set Rizwan Siddiqui, arrested last, free in the afternoon.

Talking to the media outside the Crime Branch office, he declined to speak anything about the case, saying it was a client-related matter and hence confidential.

"There are two matters - one is related to my clients and the other to me. I will not speak on anything. I have been protecting the intrest of clients which I will do in future also. I am here because of my clients," he said.

Asked about Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his brother not appearing before the police in connection with the case, he said it was for the law enforcement agency to answer this.

The bench gave the direction while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Rizwan Siddiqui's wife, Tasneem, challenging the manner of his arrest in the case.

A habeas corpus plea is a petition which is filed to ensure a person under arrest is brought before a court which will determine whether the detention is legal.

The advocate was arrested by the Thane police on the night of March 16 for allegedly having ordered the illegal procurement of the CDR of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife.

His wife had alleged the police had kept him in wrongful and illegal custody.

The police had earlier arrested nearly a dozen people in the case, including woman private detective Rajni Pandit, who is now out on bail.

The racket, which involved illegal procurement and sale of CDRs, was busted by the Thane Crime Branch in January.

CDR is a data record that contains information related to a telephone call such as the origination and destination addresses of the call, the time the call started and ended, the duration of the call and the time the call was made, among others.