Mumbai attacks: India’s top court upholds Ajmal Kasab’s death penalty
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab is the lone surviving gunman in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
NEW DELHI:
The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence handed down to Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
The court also observed that it was “crystal clear that the conspiracy was hatched by Pakistanis”.
The court rejected a plea filed by Kasab – a Pakistani citizen who was one of the 10 gunmen who laid siege to different landmarks of India’s financial capital for nearly three days – to commute the death sentence handed to him by the Bombay High Court, to life imprisonment — citing an unfair trial. Now the only course left for Kasab is to appeal to the Indian president for mercy.
However, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says if Kasab files a mercy plea, “we will ensure that it is disposed of in minimum time”.
President Pranab Mukherjee has nearly 20 mercy petitions pending before him, among them that of Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the 2001 Indian parliament attack, and the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the convicted killer of India’s former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
According to rules, Kasab’s petition, if filed, will have to wait its turn. But the president can fast-track a particular case provided he is convinced of its extraordinary nature.
Confirming the death sentence, the top court observed that the foremost offence that Kasab was charged with was waging war against India and “we are left with no option, but to uphold the sentence.”
A bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice C K Prasad rejected 25-year-old Kasab’s contention that he was not given a free and fair trial. The bench observed that the government’s failure to provide him with a lawyer at the pre-trial stage did not vitiate court proceedings against him.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who defended Ajmal in the apex court as amicus curiae, said he “bows down” to the ruling.
“I bow to the verdict of the court. As amicus curiae, I was given an opportunity to advance every convincing arguments, I could,” said Ramachandran, who was appointed by the apex court to defend the accused.
Meanwhile, Ujjwal Nikam, who led the case against Kasab throughout the trial, called on the death sentence to be carried out “as soon as possible so that it gives a strong signal to terrorists.”
Speaking at a conference in Tehran, Foreign Minister SM Krishna reacted to the court’s decision by saying that he was “sure Pakistan will not fail to take note of it”.
Kasab was found guilty on charges including waging war, murder and terrorist acts, and was sentenced to death in May 2010.
India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant organisation for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with support from “elements” in the Pakistan military. Islamabad, however, denies the charge.
(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2012.
The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence handed down to Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
The court also observed that it was “crystal clear that the conspiracy was hatched by Pakistanis”.
The court rejected a plea filed by Kasab – a Pakistani citizen who was one of the 10 gunmen who laid siege to different landmarks of India’s financial capital for nearly three days – to commute the death sentence handed to him by the Bombay High Court, to life imprisonment — citing an unfair trial. Now the only course left for Kasab is to appeal to the Indian president for mercy.
However, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says if Kasab files a mercy plea, “we will ensure that it is disposed of in minimum time”.
President Pranab Mukherjee has nearly 20 mercy petitions pending before him, among them that of Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the 2001 Indian parliament attack, and the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the convicted killer of India’s former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
According to rules, Kasab’s petition, if filed, will have to wait its turn. But the president can fast-track a particular case provided he is convinced of its extraordinary nature.
Confirming the death sentence, the top court observed that the foremost offence that Kasab was charged with was waging war against India and “we are left with no option, but to uphold the sentence.”
A bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice C K Prasad rejected 25-year-old Kasab’s contention that he was not given a free and fair trial. The bench observed that the government’s failure to provide him with a lawyer at the pre-trial stage did not vitiate court proceedings against him.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who defended Ajmal in the apex court as amicus curiae, said he “bows down” to the ruling.
“I bow to the verdict of the court. As amicus curiae, I was given an opportunity to advance every convincing arguments, I could,” said Ramachandran, who was appointed by the apex court to defend the accused.
Meanwhile, Ujjwal Nikam, who led the case against Kasab throughout the trial, called on the death sentence to be carried out “as soon as possible so that it gives a strong signal to terrorists.”
Speaking at a conference in Tehran, Foreign Minister SM Krishna reacted to the court’s decision by saying that he was “sure Pakistan will not fail to take note of it”.
Kasab was found guilty on charges including waging war, murder and terrorist acts, and was sentenced to death in May 2010.
India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant organisation for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with support from “elements” in the Pakistan military. Islamabad, however, denies the charge.
(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2012.