Guilty plea may not end 26/11 trial

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab’s admission of guilt may not end the trial against him. “We are still studying whether the court should accept Kasab’s mid-trial confession,” special public prosecutor,"  Ujjwal Nikam told DNA.

Nikam labelled Kasab’s move to plead guilty a “well-informed and cunning” tactic aimed at “throwing all the guilt on the dead terrorist” to gain sympathy. In his confession Kasab said that he acted on instructions from his ‘amir’ (leader),  Abu Ismail, who was killed by the Mumbai police. Though Kasab confessed to firing at people at CST, he did not admit to killing the top cops near Cama Hospital or policeman Tukaram Ombale, who had nabbed him.

According to lawyers, an accused can plead guilty at any stage of his trial. However, it is at the court’s discretion to accept the confession after verifying that it is voluntary and correct. “Even if the court accepts Kasab’s confession it would be advisable to continue the trial and convict him on the basis of evidence,” said criminal lawyer Shrikant Shivade.   

“His confession can be used as another piece of clinching evidence against him,” said Shivade. Advocate Yug Chowdhary cited the example of the General Arun Vaidya’s murder trial, where both  the assassins admitted to the killing during trial but the court continued to record evidence, finished the trial and sentenced both to death. “There is a long-established practice in the Bombay Sessions Court not to convict and pass sentence on the basis of a confession in a murder trial but to proceed with recording of evidence,” said Chowdhary. The court can take congnisance of a confession but evidence presented by the prosecution will only make the case water-tight.

Also, Kasab’s confession assigns no role to the two others accused in the case, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed. According to the prosecution the trio is part of a comprehensive conspiracy behind the 26/11 attack and thus the trial will have to continue to determine the role of the other two accused.