Prime accused in 1993 bomb blast case, Mustaffa Ahmed Umar Dossa (in blue), deported from Dubai on Wednesday night, was on Thursday produced before a special court in Mumbai, which remanded him to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation for a day.
Merchant filed an application urging for permission to remain present during interrogation of the accused.
Designated Judge P D Kode directed the CBI to file a reply in this regard on Friday.
Mustaffa alias Majnoon Sheth alias Ahmed Memon would be produced on Friday before the judge for further remand. The court has directed CBI not to interrogate him until then.
Deposing before the court, the accused said he was in custody of the Dubai police for 52 days. He said he had no complaints against the CBI. Mustaffa also said he was engaged in gold trading business and his family was in Dubai.
Mustaffa's lawyer said his client had been deported while the CBI said they had arrested him at Delhi airport when he arrived from Dubai by a flight.
Mustaffa is the brother of Mohammad Dossa who is also a prime accused in the case and absconding since 1993 when serial explosions rocked the city killing 257 people and injuring 713.
Both the brothers are facing charge of distributing arms and ammunitions at the instance of underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim who masterminded the blasts.
Mustaffa, along with his brother Mohammed Dossa, also arranged landing of arms and ammunition at Dighi coast in nearby Raigad district on January nine 1993. From there, the weapons were transported in trucks to Gujarat and Mumbai, the CBI alleged.
The court had earlier issued non-bailable warrant against Mustaffa. He was also declared a proclaimed offender and his properties in the city attached by the court.