The Supreme Court has appointed senior advocate Raju Ramachandran as its amicus curiae to assist it in hearing of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Amir Ajmal Kasab’s plea challenging his death penalty.
Kasab, the sole terrorist caught alive during the attack, and convicted for the three-day November 2008 terror siege of Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, had on July 28 this year written a letter to the Supreme Court challenging his conviction and death sentence.
The Supreme Court had earlier refused to pass any order on Maharashtra government’s plea to tag Kasab’s case with its plea against acquittal of two other 26/11 accused.
An Additional Solicitor-General of India from 2002 to 2004, Mr. Ramachandran had also served the Supreme Court as amicus curiae for its hearing of Gujarat riots cases.
Kasab, one of the 10 Pakistani perpetrators of the attack, had been sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6 last year. His death penalty was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
Keywords: 26/11 case, Mumbai attacks, Kasab appeal, Raju Ramachandran
