Headley's status hearing postponed till Feb 23

The status hearing of Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, charged with conspiracy in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, scheduled in a court in Chicago on Tuesday has been postponed till February 23.

The hearing was scheduled for January 12 before US Judge Harry Leinenweber in US District Court of Illinois.

However, "Tuesday's hearing has now been cancelled and postponed till February 23," spokesman for US Attorney's office Randall Samborn told PTI.

Samborn said the hearing has been postponed "by agreement of both parties".

Headley has been charged with conspiring in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. The FBI charges also allege he had made several trips to India prior to the attacks to scout for terror targets and then shared the information with conspirators in Pakistan.

After his arrest in October last year, Headley had first appeared in the court on December 9 when he was arraigned and he had pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted terror attacks against India and Denmark.

Headley's presence has been waived by the defence, which means he need not be present for court hearings in the future. His lawyer John Theis said the status hearing is a routine matter where the court would be updated by the defence and prosecution on the progress and status of the case.

Suspected LeT operative Headley's arraignment in December had lasted for only a couple of minutes. Then he had waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury, which meant he had waived his right to have prosecutors present their evidence against him to a grand jury and obtain an indictment.