Mohammed Kasab, currently in jail in Mumbai, was one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to the city in attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people.
"Now it is for the president of India to take a final call as he holds the supreme authority in this matter," a senior home ministry official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Kasab was sentenced to death in May 2010 after he was found guilty of a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts.
He appealed in the Indian Supreme Court claiming he did not receive a fair trial, but his petition was struck down in August.
Prisoners can often languish for years on death row in India, with only one execution having taken place in the last 15 years - that of a former security guard hanged in 2004 for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.
During the 2008 attacks, the heavily armed gunmen stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station.
India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with support from "elements" in the Pakistan military.
President Pranab Mukherjee, who took office in July, is considering 11 other appeals from death row prisoners.
COMMENTS (20)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1714024018-0/ModiLara-(1)1714024018-0-270x192.webp)
@Farhan: Right, release him to Pakistan so that the lawyers can shower him with rosé petals, and the courts will then release him due to "lack of evidence"!
i remember that security guards name: Dhananjay Chatarjee.
@sensible:
Quid pro quo?
@Raj Kafir: Have you ever learnt your lesson?
India should not dirty their hands in this - they should hand him over to Pakistan and let him be tried there. He should then be given a public trial. He should then be hung in public. And he should be left hanging for a week. Pakistan should then fly out families from India to witness this. This is the best that perhaps we can offer to India in an effort to build brotherly ties. I have always maintained, sans a few crazy fools, all of Pakistan sides with the families of those who were impacted by this cowardly act.
Pak should also hang sarbjeet singh, after all he is also a terrorist and confessed it long time ago. I think its time now that President Zardari rejects his mercy plea and set example for other terrorists!
@dude108:
he is not eligible for mercy plea, he is a not a Indian citizen
If Kasab is "eligible" to be tried & convicted under Indian system, he is "eligible" for Mercy too under the same system. In other words, so far as I know, there is no "eligibility" criteria for Mercy, not even admission of guilt, let alone citizenship. Both citizens & aliens can beg for it but neither can claim it.Since it is not a Right it can not be demanded, that is,"The quality of mercy is not strain'd." Depending on the advise he receives (which he is supposed to follow) from the government the President might strategically allow the man to live longer if some clear advantages accrue to the State. Decision will not be an emotional one,obviously, even if the issue is emotive.The vociferous demand by many, including by a political party,for immediate hanging of convicts like Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab may not lead to people suddenly becoming very justice-loving. On the contrary the unhealthy obsession leading to mental lynching will only brutalise the young of the society.
He should be pardoned. His poor parents have suffered a lot. He should be allowed to meet his parents and siblings. He has learned his lesson. Let him live his life peacefully. Let us give peace a chance as his death will not bring those 166 dead to life.
In principle, I am against death sentence. However if a country HAS death sentence on its books,I cannot think of anyone more deserving than this manwhose crime was a) horrendous b) caught on video and hence no chance of judgment error.
No ONE should be killed ........ life in prison ... thats good enuff why kill any1 No NO NO ... death punishment is as crazy as terrorism itself
he is not eligible for mercy plea, he is a not a Indian citizen
What a coward!!!!!
A terrorist has no nationality and should be given maximum punishment.
He should be severely punished.
Mercy plea? as though he's actually sorry for his actions! Legal drama in action..
He should be hanged twice. Once in India and once in Pakistan for giving Pakistan a bad name. He didn't have the courage to put a bullet through his head before he was caught. Thats the kind of man he is ...a coward.
They should release Amar Singh and Heera Laal. After all they are their own assests in this false flag operation.