news details |
|
|
| Kasab may fight legal battles after court verdict | | |
Whatever quantum of punishment the special court awards on Thursday Mohammad Ajmal Kasab may not be sent to the gallows within days or weeks.There are still many legal avenues left for him to defend himself.The verdict of the special Court has to be first confirmed by the High Court.Later Kasab can move the Supreme court with a petition pleading innocence.In case the Supreme Court upholds the judgement of the special court Kasab can file a review petition in the apex court.If the review petition is also dismissed he is left with the last alternative for seeking Presidential mercy. This is what Mohd.Afzal Guru has done.Guru was sentenced to death by the supreme court in 2004 on charge of his involvement in the terroist attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.His death sentence was to be executed in 2006 but he has managed secure stay on the execution of the dealth sentence.There are over 300 such convicts in India who await being sent to the gallows even
after they have exhausted all the legal courses that were available to them for evading facing the gallows.It can happen in India only where even those whose involvement in murders,in terrorist attacks and other gruesome acts has been confirmed are provided proper legal aid for defending themselves.See the contrast.The Lahore High Court awarded death sentence to one Sarbjit Singh on charge of having masterminded bomb explosions in Lahore and Multan in 1990 in which 14 people were killed.The death sentenced was served to him in 1991.He later moved the Supreme court with a petition challenging the Lahore High Court judgement.The apex court dismissed his petition.Again he moved a r eview petition that too met the same fate.He was left with only one option of seeking Presidential mercy but the Pakistan President,Asif Ali Zardari,has not granted mercy.What is painful about this story is that the prosecution in its case has shown Sarbjit Singh as Manjit
Singh who had been involved in the bomb blasts.This way Sarbjit Singh is Manjit Singh in the eyes of the Pakistani security personnel and the prosecution.Despite repeated denials by Sarbjit Singh telling the court and the authorities that his was a mistaken identity case as he had strayed by mistake into Pakistani territory in 1990 from Wagah border when he had been caught by the Pakistani forces.Most strange aspect of the story is that the investigators and interrogators have recorded in the files that Manjit Singh has admitted his guilt when in reality he has told the interrogators that he was not Manjit Singh and had no involvement in serial bomb explosions.Against this there can be not even an iota of doubt as far as involvement of Guru and Kasab in two separate terrorist strikes,one on the Indian parliament and the other in Mumbai, are concerned but still the Indian authorities did not deny the two proper legal aid.Kasab had been arrested after he
was injured in the exchange of fire between him and the security forces in Mumbai still he tried to deceive the interrogators first by accepting his guilt and then pleading innocence.Had such an incident taken place in any Islamic country and a terrorist like Kasab having fallen in the net of the security agency he would have been shot dead there and then. Kasab is only 22 years old.This age factor can help him during the legal battle he may fight in the High Court and in the Supreme court.Those who fell to Kasab's bullets and of those fired by his accomplices would not become alive if Kasab is sent to the gallows.But stringent penalty usually is a deterrent for others who too think of following the footsteps of Kasab.It is the inherent strength in the Indian democracy that even the killers of innocent civilians are provided with legal aid.In India the idea of adopting "catch and kill" policy is being abhorred.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
