Produce journalist Kazmi in court physically, says court

A Delhi court has asked jail authorities to produce journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, arrested for his alleged role in bombing of Israeli diplomat's car, to produce him personally before it, and not via video-conferencing for the extension of his judicial custody.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Manish Yaduvanshi gave the direction to the jail superintendent on a plea by Kazmi's counsel, objecting to the extension of his judicial custody through video conferencing without his physical production before the court.

The counsel had filed the application after Kazmi's judicial custody was extended by a duty magistrate on May 19 through video-conferencing despite an order by the court of chief metropolitan magistrate earlier asking the jail authorities to physically produce him before the court.

"It is stated that the accused (Kazmi) was directed to be produced physically by the order of the chief metropolitan magistrate dated May 5, 2012. However, he was produced for extension of judicial custody at Electronic Video Linkage room at Tis Hazari courts, Delhi before the concerned duty magistrate on May 19, 2012.

"Issue directions to the superintendent, jail concerned to produce the accused in the concerned court on June 2, 2012," the ACMM said.

Lodged in judicial custody since March 24, Kazmi is produced from jail for extension of his custody through video conferencing for security reasons.

Kazmi, who claims to have been writing for an Iranian publication, was picked up by the police after the probe showed he had been in touch with a suspect who is believed to have stuck the magnetic bomb on Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua's car.

Yehoshua, and an Indian driver of the embassy vehicle were among the four people injured in the blast.

Kazmi has been booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Explosives Substances Act and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code including the attempt to murder.