New Delhi [India], December 30 : The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition moved on behalf of Saleem Ahmed, an accused under MCOCA, who had alleged that the Police coerced him to sign certain papers while he was in judicial custody. Saleem has been arrested in a case linked to Hashim Baba, who is alleged to be a part of an organised crime syndicate.
Vacation bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed the petition after considering the submissions made on behalf of the Delhi police and the Delhi State.
"In view of the same, this Court does not find any merit in the present petition," Justice Shankar said in the order of December 29.
During the hearing, Standing counsel Sanjay Lao and Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) appearing for the authorities handed over an order of November 3, 2025, which clearly shows that the Petitioner's contention that the concerned authorities have obtained unauthorised access to the Petitioner inside the judicial custody, which is the foundational premise of the present petition, is clearly incorrect.
The petitioner moved a petition naming the Delhi police, ACP and Inspector of Special Cell and the Delhi State.
He alleged that the authorities unauthorisedly and without following due process accessed the Petitioner inside the jail premises and, pursuant to such forcible and unauthorised access, coerced the Petitioner to sign certain documents.
The counsel for the Petitioner further argued that any document, statement, or confession bearing such signatures, having been obtained through coercion, is void ab initio and stands vitiated.
The Petitioner was arrested in connection with an FIR registered at Police Station Farsh Bazar in 2024, and provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the MCOCA were invoked during investigation.
However, the supplementary charge sheet against the Petitioner has not yet been filed, and the Petitioner is not on trial as of this date.
The Petitioner did not challenge the legality of the arrest or remand. The grievance arises from the illegal conduct of the Investigating Agency during the subsistence of judicial custody, whereby the Investigating Officer, without any prior permission of the Special Court or Magistrate, accessed the Petitioner inside the jail premises and subjected him to coercive pressure and threats, including threats of false implication and harm to his family.
It was specifically alleged that during such unauthorised access, the Petitioner was forcibly made to append his signature on blank and partially prepared documents, giving rise to a reasonable apprehension that the same are intended to be used to fabricate a purported confession under Section 18 of the MCOCA.
Such conduct fundamentally destroys the requirement of a free, voluntary, and coercion-free atmosphere, which is the sine qua non for admissibility of any confession under Section 18, and renders the statutory safeguards under Section 18(6) illusory, the plea said.
On November 4, Saleem was arrested after permission to interrogate him was granted.
The Petitioner was remanded to judicial custody for two days only by a duty magistrate. However, the police custody granted by the Special Court subsequently which was subsequently exhausted. Thereafter, the Petitioner is in judicial custody.