Delhi court takes cognisance of NIA's 7,500-page Red Fort blast chargesheet

A special court at Rouse Avenue on Saturday took cognisance of the National Investigation Agency's chargesheet in the Red Fort car bomb case and fixed 9 September for the next step, the supply of papers to the accused.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma recorded the filing. A detailed speaking order on why cognisance was taken has not yet been issued. The court directed the agency to furnish copies of the record under Section 230 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

The main chargesheet, filed on 14 May 2026, runs to about 7,500 pages. It names ten accused. A supplementary chargesheet filed on 27 June added three more names, taking the total to 13. The agency lists 588 witnesses, more than 395 documentary exhibits and more than 200 material exhibits.

The blast took place on 10 November 2025 near Lal Quila Metro Station. A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device killed 11 people on the public count used by the court papers and wrecked nearby property. The NIA later took the case over from Delhi Police.

The agency says the accused were tied to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, described as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. It frames the attack as a conspiracy prepared over years, not a lone act on the day.

Dr Umer Un Nabi, a former assistant professor of medicine at Al-Falah University in Faridabad and a resident of Pulwama, is named as the principal accused. He died in the explosion. The NIA has asked the court to abate proceedings against him.

The first list also includes Aamir Rashid Mir, Jasir Bilal Wani, Dr Muzamil Shakeel, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, Dr Shaheen Saeed, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay, Soyab, Dr Bilal Naseer Malla and Yasir Ahmad Dar. The June supplement names paediatrician Muzafar Ahmed Rather, described as a founding member of the module and the elder brother of Adeel; Zameer Ahmad Ahanger; and Tufail Ahmad Bhat. Bhat is described as a former over-ground worker for Lashkar-e-Taiba who, the agency says, supplied an AK-47, a Krinkov rifle, a pistol, magazines and ammunition through dead drops for Rs 3 lakh.

Adeel Rather was arrested in Saharanpur on 7 November 2025, three days before the blast, while working at a private hospital. Shaheen Saeed is based in Lucknow. The investigation ran through Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi-NCR.

The charges rest on the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Explosive Substances Act, the Arms Act and the law on damage to public property. Special public prosecutor Madhav Khurana appeared with Trisha Mittal and public prosecutor Anil Dabas.

Cognisance is the court's finding that the papers disclose offences worth trying. It is not a finding of guilt. Charge will be framed later, after the accused receive the record and the court hears arguments on what offences, if any, are made out against each person still alive and in reach of the court.

One accused remains absconding. The court has also permitted disposal of recovered biological remains with dignity, a procedural note that follows from the fact that the bomber died at the scene.

September 9 is a compliance date. The volume of the file, 7,500 pages plus the supplement, means the defence will spend weeks reading before any argument on charge can begin. That is the immediate consequence of Saturday's order.