It was the arrest of his two sons in 2005 that spurred septuagenarian Gulzar Azmi into action. Convinced that many young Muslim men were being falsely implicated in terror-related cases, Azmi set up a legal aid cell under the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a prominent organisation of Islamic scholars to provide legal support to the accused and their families.

Nineteen years later, that legal cell has achieved its most significant victory as the the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted by the special court in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.

At first glance, Azmi, often seen clad in a lungi with traces of paan dribbling from the corners of his mouth, seemed an unlikely figure to have led the defence of over 500 Muslim men involved in 52 terror cases across the country. Yet, from a modest two-storey office tucked away in the narrow, congested lanes of Bhendi Bazaar’s Imambada area, he built what would become a lifeline for hundreds of families whose members were arrested on terror-related charges.

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Visitors to the office would wind their way past tied-up goats and the aroma of Mughlai food from street caterers to meet Azmi — many of them seeking not just legal help, but also financial support.

Born in 1934 in Mumbai, Azmi had a religious education and had been associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind since the 1950s. He served the organisation in various capacities, helping launch developmental initiatives for the Muslim community. But his trajectory changed dramatically in 2005, when his sons Abrar, a perfume mixer, and Anwar, a construction site supervisor, were arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly extorting money on behalf of underworld figure Faheem Machmach.

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While his sons were in jail, the 2006 Mumbai train blasts took place, followed by the Malegaon blasts in September that year. Azmi’s personal ordeal deepened his belief that many terror arrests were based on flimsy or fabricated evidence.

“People would come to our office and complain that innocents were being arrested. I had myself suffered this injustice. I thought, if my innocent sons were framed, may be the police was doing the same with others as well,” Azmi told The Indian Express in an earlier interview.

It was around this time that Shahid Azmi, a lawyer who would later be assassinated, approached the Jamiat with the idea of taking up legal defence in terror cases. Maulana Arshad Madni, president of the Jamiat, asked Gulzar Azmi to head the initiative.

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“In 2006, 43 Muslims were arrested on terror charges in Maharashtra. Some of the families wanted to challenge the application of MCOCA. A lawyer agreed to take up the case for Rs 3 lakh, but the families couldn’t raise the money. The petition eventually failed,” Azmi recalled.

The Jamiat decided to step in. Through community donations and Zakat funds (religious alms given by Muslims), it began financing legal defences. Each year, the organisation spends between Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore on these cases.

Though the Jamiat maintains it only takes on cases after a thorough vetting process, only when it believes in the innocence of the accused, some of the individuals it has supported have been convicted. One such case is that of Muzammil Ansari from Malegaon, who was sentenced to life in prison for planting bombs in Mumbai.

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“We are not naïve,” Azmi once said. “We know the police often target individuals with links to SIMI. But let me tell you, these SIMI boys are only zabaan ke mard, loudmouths. They are not capable or intelligent enough to carry out such sophisticated operations. Just being a member of SIMI doesn’t make someone a terrorist.”

Azmi often cited his sons’ case as proof of systemic abuse by investigative agencies. “They spent two years, eight months, and 10 days in jail before being honourably acquitted. The court even permitted us to file a complaint against the officers who arrested them,” he said.

Despite a special court convicting the 12 accused in the 7/11 train blasts in 2016, the Jamiat Lega Cell under Azmi’s leadership continued its legal battle. The organisation enlisted some of India’s top legal minds, including Yug Mohit Chaudhary, Senior Advocates Nitya Ramakrishnan, S. Nagamuthu, and Dr. S. Muralidhar to fight the case in the Bombay High Court.

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Azmi’s activism also drew criticism and threats. BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar once called for a ban on the Jamiat, accusing it of underworld links. Underworld don Ravi Pujari even threatened to kill him.

Gulzar Azmi passed away in August 2023 at the age of 89 before the High Court hearings began in mid-2024. Yet, his colleagues believe that the eventual acquittal of the 12 accused vindicates his life’s mission.

“It was his aim to ensure that no innocent person ended up getting the wrong end of the stick,” said Shahid Nadeem, legal advisor to the Jamiat. “Till his last days, he was involved in drafting the legal strategy for this case. He would have been very content with the verdict.”