Man acquitted in 26/11 case free to take up jobs that don’t need police clearance: Maharashtra Government

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday (November 25, 2025) informed the Bombay High Court that Faheem Ansari, who was acquitted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, is free to work in any job that does not require a police clearance certificate or character verification.

The statement came a day before the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 166 people and injured more than 300.

Mr Ansari approached the Supreme Court in January seeking permission from the police to enable him to drive an autorickshaw to earn a living. The plea argued that the denial of the certificate was “arbitrary, illegal and discriminatory” and violated the fundamental right to livelihood under Article 19(1)(g).

In September, the government told the court that Mr Ansari’s application was rejected under the 2014 police warrant guidelines because he remained under surveillance due to his suspected links to Lashkar-e-Taiba.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, Additional Public Prosecutor Amit Palkar submitted a list of jobs requiring police clearance/character certificate. Mr Palkar explained that Mr Ansari could instead pursue any profession that did not require police clearance. Referring to a secret report on Mr Ansari’s alleged links to the banned organisation, he requested the court to hear the matter in the courtroom. The court accepted this and said that the defense would be heard this week.

Mr. Ansari and his co-accused, Sabauddin Ahmed, were acquitted by a special court in May 2010 and convicted Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunman in the case. The court held that there was no evidence to prove that the duo played a role as co-conspirators or facilitators of the Lashkar-e-Taiba conspiracy. Their acquittal was confirmed by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. But Mr. Ansari was convicted in an unrelated case in Uttar Pradesh and sentenced to 10 years in prison before being released in 2019.

After his release, Mr. Ansari worked in printing houses in Mumbai and Mumbra but started driving auto-rickshaws to earn better income. He obtained the license and applied for police clearance in January 2024, but was informed through the RTI response that the certificate could not be issued due to allegations of terrorism links.