26/11 case: Wired Ajmal Kasab to follow death hearing from jail

In a first in the country, convicted terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab will follow the proceedings of the confirmation of his death sentence in the Bombay high court through video conferencing.

Although similar trials have been conducted in the past, this will be the first death confirmation hearing where the presence of the accused will be secured by the court via the electronic facility.

Taking note of the security hassles involved in bringing Kasab to court, a division bench of justices Ranjana Desai and RV More has directed the state government to make arrangements for video conferencing between the high court and Kasab, lodged at the Arthur Road prison, in two weeks. The court has fixed October 18 as the date for the commencement of the hearing of the death confirmation petition.

Kasab’s advocate Farhana Shah was asked to meet Kasab on Monday and inform the court whether or not he was keen on following the confirmation proceedings. Shah said Kasab was keen and he “insisted” on attending the court personally.

However, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that the issue of ferrying Kasab to the high court has been considered at the highest level and there would be a serious threat perception in doing the same.

“We will not be able to grant that (attending court personally) because of the threat perception. We will ensure that he participates through video conferencing,” justice Desai said.

The court said that although the presence of the accused in a confirmation was not necessary under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) or the criminal manual, the court was keen on it as a matter of practice and prudence. “You should appreciate our anxiety. The accused should not feel that the high court does not....if he wants, we will make the arrangement (video conferencing) for him. If there is a threat it is good if he does not come,” justice Desai said.

Shah told the court that Kasab’s appeal needed some finishing touches and it would be filed by September 24. The judges, however, observed that the appeal period had already lapsed and in a confirmation case, an appeal against conviction was not necessary. “Technically, we need not wait for your appeal,” the court told Shah. Although they assured that they will condone the delay in filing the appeal as the trial court judgment convicting Kasab ran into 16,000 pages, they said they will proceed with the confirmation case irrespective of whether Kasab files an appeal or not.

Man makes wild claims, thrown out
A man claiming to be a member of the Azad Hind Sena turned up before the high court in the morning session of Kasab’s confirmation case hearing and made various allegations related to the 26/11 terror attacks. He alleged that special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was a member of the ‘Kasab gang’ and the attacks were not orchestrated by Pakistan but by him. He urged the court to hang Kasab immediately. The court, however, refused to entertain him as he had filed no application in the case. He was driven out of court by policemen. Nikam informed the court that he is a vexatious litigant.