32 years after Mumbai blasts, court orders release of Tiger Memon's properties to Centre

Mumbai: A special court here has ordered that 14 properties belonging to Tiger Memon, one of the alleged masterminds of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, and his family be handed over to the central government.

These properties were in possession of the Bombay High Court's receiver since 1994 following an order of the TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court.

The 14 properties include a flat in a building in Bandra (West), an office premises in Mahim, an open plot in Mahim, a vacant plot and a flat in Santacruz (East), two flats in a building in Kurla, an office on Mohammed Ali Road, a shop and plot in Dongri, three shops in Manish Market and a building on Sheikh Memon Street, Mumbai.

On March 12, 1993, a series of 13 blasts rocked various parts of Mumbai, claiming 257 lives and injuring more than 700 others. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later conducted a probe into the blasts case.

In an order passed last week on March 26, special TADA court judge V D Kedar said the "possession of the immovable properties needs to be handed over to the central government".

The properties forfeited to the Centre are "free from encumbrances" and as such the "Central government through the competent authority is entitled to get possession of 14 immovable properties," the order said.

The competent authority, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, SAFEM (FOP) Act, had sought the release of the properties.

The plea said the function of the SAFEM (FOP) Act is to trace the illegally acquired properties of smugglers and drug traffickers and order for their forfeiture to the central government.

The forfeiture proceedings were initiated against Memon on the basis of a detention order issued by the Maharashtra government in 1992 under provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act, 1974, it said.

Thereafter, the competent authority in 1993 ordered the forfeiture of various properties under the SAFEM (FOP) Act.

However, subsequently the said properties were in 1994 attached by the special TADA court, conducting trial in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, and were in the possession of the high court since then, it said.

The court had issued notices to Tiger Memon and his family in regard to the competent authority's plea. They, however, did not file any response.

The special judge, then, after going through the documents on record, held that it is necessary to set aside the attachment (order) passed in 1994.

The possession of the immovable properties needs to be handed over to the central government through the applicant (competent authority) in view of the forfeiture order passed in the year 1993, the plea added.

As per the CBI, the 1993 blasts were masterminded by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim with the help of his lieutenants Tiger Memon and Mohammed Dossa, allegedly at the instance of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.

While Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon are still wanted accused, the latter's brother Yakub Memon was convicted in the case and hanged to death in 2015.