MHA orders prevent Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi from being removed from prison.
Agencies can seek court permission to question the brothers inside their jails.
Mumbai Police cited these restrictions while seeking Anmol’s custody in Siddique’s murder.
Mumbai Police face a legal hurdle in securing the custody of Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi as they investigate claims linking the gang to Sunday’s firing targeting actor Tiger Shroff in Juhu.
Home Ministry orders bar investigating agencies from removing the brothers from their prisons. Lawrence Bishnoi is lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, while Anmol Bishnoi is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Three accused have been arrested in an operation involving Mumbai and Rajasthan police. Mumbai Police are seeking their custody for questioning. Neither Lawrence nor Anmol has been named as an accused in the Shroff case so far.
The restrictions have also prevented Mumbai Police from obtaining the brothers’ physical custody in earlier cases, including the firing outside Salman Khan’s home and the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
What Do The Home Ministry Orders Say?
In August 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order under Section 268 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, preventing Lawrence from being taken out of prison.
The order was initially valid for a year and was subsequently extended. Renewals have been issued under Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which replaced the CrPC.
The ministry issued a similar order for Anmol Bishnoi on December 5, 2025, barring his removal from prison for a year. He had been deported from the United States the previous month and arrested by the National Investigation Agency.
While the orders remain in force, production warrants do not override them. Agencies seeking to interrogate the brothers must obtain court permission and question them inside jail.
Why Does This Affect The Investigations?
Investigating agencies have said prison questioning is more restrictive than custodial interrogation.
Access may be limited to one or two officers for fixed periods, and investigators cannot bring other accused into the prison to confront the person being questioned.
Section 303 allows the government to restrict a prisoner’s removal after considering the nature of the offence, the possibility of a public-order disturbance and the public interest. Authorities have also cited escape risks and threats to prisoners’ lives when imposing such orders.
What Happened In The Baba Siddique Case?
Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East on October 12, 2024.
Police allege that the 27 accused arrested in the case acted on Anmoln Bishnoi's instructions. He has been named as a wanted accused in the chargesheet.
On July 3, Siddique’s wife moved an application seeking directions to Mumbai Police to obtain Anmol’s custody, alleging “lethargy”. The special MCOCA court later questioned the police over their failure to bring him before it and issued a show-cause notice to the investigating officer.
In their reply, police cited the MHA order.
“The order has thus created an express legal embargo against obtaining physical custody of the accused..the physical custody of the accused is very much essential for carrying out an effective investigation and without it, the investigating agency will be handicapped in carrying out further investigation in the said offence,” the reply stated.
Police said they had therefore not questioned Anmol. Later in July, a special NIA court in Delhi rejected their production warrant for him, citing the restriction.
What About The Salman Khan Case?
In 2024, Mumbai Police approached the Union home ministry seeking Lawrence’s custody in connection with the firing outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence.
Anmol has sought to surrender and join the judicial proceedings in that case. His application is pending.
The brothers are named as wanted accused in Mumbai chargesheets, but investigators have been unable to bring them to the city.
Can Such Restrictions Be Challenged?
Courts have examined similar orders in other cases.
In May 2013, the Maharashtra government restricted the production of Zabiuddin Ansari, also known as Abu Jundal, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, under Section 268 of the CrPC.
Ansari challenged the order in the Bombay High Court, saying he wanted to attend proceedings and had a right to a fair trial. The court rejected his plea, citing the sensitive nature of the case, and allowed him to appear through videoconferencing.
Courts have, in other instances, quashed restrictions or directed authorities to reconsider them where the reasons were insufficient or circumstances had changed.
What Is Known About The Shroff Case?
A purported social media claim of responsibility named the Lawrence Bishnoi gang alongside several others. Police are examining the claim.
The firing has prompted political questions about the gang’s activities and investigators’ access to its alleged leaders.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi asked on X: “Why is it that Mumbai Police hasn’t been able to question the gangster in jail since the first attempted shootout outside Salman Khan residence? Who and why is there no active cooperation in addressing this issue ?”
