Train blasts: CDRs of SIMI activists deleted by ATS, HC told

This was informed to Justice A M Thipsay who was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by some of the accused in the case seeking direction to a special MCOCA court conducting trial against them to recall certain witnesses including the investigating officers for cross-examination of availability of CDRs.

A total of 200 people were killed and another 714 others injured in a series of seven explosions that took place on the suburban Mumbai trains on July 11, 2006.

According to the accused, the ATS had in 2006 while seeking their remands relied on these CDRs recovered from their mobile phones before their arrest but had not produced the data records in the chargesheet filed against them.

Advocate Yug Chaudhary, appearing for the accused, argued irrespective of what is there in the CDRs his clients have a right to peruse them.

"Although the prosecution has not relied on the call data records in their chargesheet...The Criminal Procedure Code has provisions under which the accused can ask the records to be produced," he said.

Advocate General Darius Khambata today told the court that while the CDRs were available they were later deleted. "The data analysis cell of ATS had procured the call data records of all the accused soon after their arrest. However, they were deleted after a year as the prosecution was not relying on it as evidence which is a normal procedure," he said. (More)