The Bombay High Court on Wednesday admitted the appeal filed by the defence counsel of Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the November 26, 2008, terror strikes in Mumbai.
The appeal challenges the trial court's order of May 6, which sentenced Kasab to death and life imprisonment, among various other punishments.
Acquittal sought
Kasab's lawyer Amin Solkar told reporters that the appeal sought Kasab's acquittal of all the charges against him. In it, the defence has challenged eyewitness accounts, Kasab's link to the conspiracy and his confession statement.
“Since Kasab's photograph was splashed all over the media repeatedly in the days following the attacks, the value of the identification parades is zero,” Mr. Solkar said.
Thus, Kasab's identification in court by “all the alleged eyewitnesses needs to be rejected in toto,” the appeal states.
Whither CCTV footage
The defence has questioned the failure of the prosecution to produce CCTV footage capturing the faces of the two gunmen at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). “The possibility of the said CCTV footages showing images of some youth other than [Kasab] cannot be ruled out,” the appeal contends.
The defence has held that Kasab's confession cannot be relied upon in part. As for the conspiracy angle, “the shootout at CST was an isolated incident unconnected with the conspiracy hatched by the other terrorists.”
CST frequented by poor
It has contended that the choice of CST, frequented by “the poor”, irrespective of religion, was incongruent with the choice of other targets, frequented by foreigners. Therefore, Kasab and his partner Ismail, “cannot be linked” to the other deceased accused.
“The two alleged terrorists at CST, Cama Hospital and Rang Bhavan are not from LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] or part of the alleged conspiracy, nor is [Kasab] part of the said conspiracy,” the appeal states.
Request rejected
Citing security concerns, the court on Wednesday rejected Kasab's request for a confidential interview with his advocates. The prosecution had, the day before, submitted a CD of CCTV footage to the court. It allegedly captured Kasab assaulting the jail staff.
The court noted, “The threat perception expressed by the police cannot be questioned by this court. Considerations of safety and national interest outweigh all other considerations.”
It allowed the presence of police personnel within the sight and earshot of Kasab and his advocates. However, officers connected with the investigation could not be present, the court said.
Who will argue first?
Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the defence counsel should open the arguments for the appeal. He said once the appeal was filed, it had to be heard before the confirmation case. Because, if acquitted, the issue of confirmation of death sentence would not arise.
Mr. Solkar, however, argued if the sentence was not confirmed, it would amount to the accused not being sentenced at all, in which case filing of the appeal would be unnecessary.
The court will hear the matter next Wednesday and decide which side should open first.
