LegalUp’s Snippy:–We all remember the vengeance assault on Mumbai City on November 26, 2008, by 10 terrorists from the Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba Fidayeen squad. Terrorists (Kasab) initially struck at the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway Station, then at the Leopold Café and the Taj Hotel. Terrorists cruelly slaughtered 166 innocent people, including 26 foreigners, in this atrocity. It was the first time that a terrorist believed to be the architect of this horrible act was apprehended alive. This case study examines the execution of Ajmal Kasab in brief. This case study also discusses Ajmal Kasab’s history, as well as the laws related to and cases cited throughout the case’s procedures.
Table of Contents
Facts
The Mumbai assault in November 2008 was a series of horrendous terrorist strikes that instilled fear in the hearts of all citizens of the country. On November 26, 2008, ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba illegally entered Mumbai and assaulted many renowned Mumbai locations such as The Taj Hotel, the Leopold Café, the Oberoi Trident Hotel, the Metro Theatre, and the CST train station, killing over 166 people. These terrorists infiltrated Mumbai over the Arabian Sea. Only Ajmal Kasab, who was actively involved in the attack, was apprehended alive. The remaining terrorists were killed in the confrontation. A conspiracy to attack India was devised to start a war against the Government of India, while schemes to commit murder were devised in Pakistan. These assaults were planned between December 2007 and November 2008. Terrorists were given weapons by Pakistan to launch an attack on India. Before the attack, the terrorists were instructed, “It is a right for Jihad, and if they die in this mission, they would have a position in paradise.” They were also advised that Kashmir could only be obtained by weakening the Indian government from inside. This can only be accomplished by assaulting India’s major cities. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab and nine other terrorists murdered about 166 people, gravely injured over 238 others, and destroyed property worth millions of dollars.
Issues
- Is it true that the appellant received a free and fair trial under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution prior to his conviction?
- Did the appellant confess without any incentive in accordance with Section 164 of the CrPC?
Judgement
The Bombay High Court ruled on Friday that Ajmal Kasab, the only convicted terrorist in the Mumbai terror attacks case, was allowed enough time by the magistrate when his confessional statement was recorded. It stated that all safeguards and procedures were used when recording the almost 40-page confessional statement under Section 164 of the CrPC.
Earlier, Kasab’s attorneys, Amin Solkar and Farhana Shah stated that the magistrate, RV Sawant Waghule, had taken practically three pauses, giving Kasab time to reconsider before making his testimony. They stated it was not in accordance with the process. The portion of the confessional statement that reads “Mein iqbalein bayan isliyen dena chahta hu, jo kaam meine kiya hai, ussein mere jaisein aur bhi fidayeen tayaar hone chahiyen” (I am confessing so that the work that I have done should inspire more terrorists) shows it was not a confessional statement.
He claimed that no procedure under the CrPc was followed and that the statement should be thrown out.
The division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and RV More stated that even if the accused provided facts about why he wished to confess, it did not rule out the possibility of accepting crime under Section 164 of the CrPc.
Ajmal Kasab was first sentenced to death by the trial court. Kasab appealed the trial court’s decision to the High Court, but the High Court denied his appeal and affirmed the death punishment. Finally, Ajmal Kasab petitioned the Supreme Court to have his death sentence commuted, but on August 29, 2012, the Supreme Court panel confirmed the lower courts’ decisions.
On November 5, 2012, the then-President of India, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, declined Ajmal Kasab’s Mercy Petition.
Finally, on November 21, 2012, at 7:30 a.m., Ajmal Kasab was hung to death in perfect secrecy at the Yerwada prison in Pune.
Kasab’s confession was recorded by a Judicial Magistrate under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. Ajmal Kasab originally addressed a letter to Pakistani officials requesting that he be assigned a Pakistani counsel since he had lost faith in Indian lawyers, but Pakistani authorities refused to acknowledge him as a citizen. Despite the fact that Kasab had perpetrated countless horrible crimes and murdered numerous innocent people, the Indian courts gave him a fair trial.