I bow to the court order, says lawyer

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who defended Ajmal Kasab as amicus curie in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, said he “bows down” to the verdict upholding Kasab’s death sentence.

“I bow to the verdict of the court. As amicus curiae, I was given an opportunity to advance every convincing argument I could,” said Ramachandran, appointed amicus curie (friend of the country) by the apex court to defend Kasab. “I took it as a sacred duty and I performed it to the best of my ability.”

 Ramachandran, who was earlier appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate allegations of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's complicity in the Gujarat riots, remarked: “I made my arguments and the court considered them. No lawyer should be attached to the result of
the case... Let us all take pride in our judicial system.”

Ramachandran desribed Kasab’s case as one of the greatest professional challenges of his career, which he performed as per the best of his abilities. Mumbai-based Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor who led the case against Kasab during the trial process, said Kasab should be executed as soon as possible. “This gives a strong signal to the terrorists that law takes stern action against such acts.”

Welcoming the SC judgement, former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, who had appeared for the Maharashtra government in the case, said “it is a victory of justice and the Constitution.”

 “The prosecution has been able to prove its case against Kasab and it has been able to bring home the charges against him. I am pleased with the Supreme Court judgement,” he said.