Verdict in Kasab case on February 21
State govt told to arrange video link to ultra’s cell
The Bombay High Court will decide the fate of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab on February 21 when it will pronounce the judgment in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Kasab had appealed against the sentence awarded to him by a special court on May 6, 2010. The appeal, as well as the hearing on the confirmation of death sentence as required under the law, was heard by a two-member Bench comprising Justices Ranjana Desai and RV More.
The judges on Monday said they would pronounce the verdict in the case on February 21.
The High Court will also give its judgment on the state’s appeal against the acquittal of two suspected Indian operatives of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) Sabauddin Ahmed and Fahim Ansari.
The two suspects, charged with preparing maps of the terror targets and providing them to the LeT, were acquitted by the special court for want of evidence.
They were handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police as they are also accused in a case of terror attack on a CRPF camp at Rampur.
The judges said although the verdict is ready, the pronouncement has been deferred by a fortnight as the compilation of judgment was taking time due to a lot of paperwork.
They also asked the state to arrange for a video link to Kasab’s cell so that he can hear the verdict.
State’s special counsel Ujjwal Nikam told mediapersons that Kasab would not be brought to the HC on the verdict day due to security reasons and would hear the verdict through video conference. The judgment will be delivered from 11 am onwards, Nikam said.
The High Court heard the arguments of the state as well as Kasab on the death penalty from October 17 on a day-to-day basis and the arguments ended on January 7.
Kasab was defended by court-appointed lawyer Amin Solkar who sought postponement of the verdict to February 28 as he would not be able to make it on February 21. But the HC turned down his request.
