The sole convict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, on Tuesday contended before the Supreme Court that he was not given a free and fair trial in the case.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who has been appointed as amicus curiae by the apex court to defend Kasab, told a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam that he was not a part of the larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation.
"Even if I am guilty under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and other provisions, it cannot be said that I was part of the larger conspiracy of waging war," said Ramachandran on behalf of his client.
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Kasab was NOT granted a fair trial, his lawyer tells SC
Maintaining that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against him beyond any doubt, he told the bench that his right against self-incrimination as well as his right to get himself adequately represented by a counsel to defend himself in the case have been violated during the trial.
The apex court had on October 10 last year stayed the death sentence of 24-year-old Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack.
In the special leave petition filed by Kasab, challenging the Bombay high court's judgment, he claimed he was brainwashed like a "robot" into committing the heinous crime in the name of "God" and that he does not deserve the capital punishment owing to his young age.
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Kasab was NOT granted a fair trial, his lawyer tells SC
Kasab has been lodged in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and had moved the SLP through jail authorities. He had challenged his conviction and death sentence in the terror attack case.
Kasab, along with nine other Pakistani terrorists, had landed at Budhwar Park in south Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008 from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks, leaving 166 people dead and many more wounded.
While Kasab was captured, the other terrorists in the group were killed during the attack. He was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6 last year.
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Kasab was NOT granted a fair trial, his lawyer tells SC
The Bombay high court had -- in its February 21, 2011 verdict -- upheld the trial court's order of death sentence to Kasab for the "brutal and diabolical" attacks aimed at "destabilising" the government.
Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The high court had upheld Kasab's conviction on 19 counts under the IPC, Arms Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, the Foreigners Act, the Passport Act and the Railway Act.
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