Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Accused moves Mumbai court seeking to declare his arrest illegal

The accused in the stabbing case of actor Saif Ali Khan on Friday filed an application before a court in Mumbai seeking to declare his arrest as illegal. He claimed he had not been provided all the necessary information at the time of arrest. (Also Read | Saif Ali Khan accepts he needs security after stabbing incident: ‘You must lock doors and be careful')

Accused Mohammad Shariful Islam (30), a Bangladeshi national currently lodged in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, on Friday withdrew his bail plea filed last month before the sessions court in Mumbai.

Later, the accused, through his lawyer Ajay Gawli, moved an application before Judicial Magistrate First Class (Bandra), seeking to declare his arrest as illegal and sought his release from jail. The accused has been illegally arrested as the investigating agency "clearly and blatantly disregarded" section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), his plea said.

The provision pertains to informing a person, at the time of his/her arrest, about the grounds of arrest and the right to bail. The plea claimed that the police did not communicate to the accused all the details of the offence he was charged with in writing. No corresponding records were available to show compliance with these mandatory provisions, the plea added.

 The court asked the police to file its reply and adjourned the matter to May 13. Saif was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th-floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 this year. The 54-year-old actor underwent an emergency surgery and was discharged after five days.