New Delhi: In an important and much-awaited judgement the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The top court rejected a plea by Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, to commute the death sentence handed to him by the Bombay High Court, to life imprisonment. Confirming the death sentence, the apex court observed that the primary and foremost offence that Kasab was charged with was waging war against India and "We are left with no option, but to uphold the sentence." 166 people were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks when 10 Pakistani terrorists sailed from Karachi to Mumbai to show India a side of terror it had never dreamt possible. While Kasab was captured, all the other terrorists who had sailed with him and attacked Mumbai were killed during counter-terror operations.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who had been appointed amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to defend Kasab, said after the verdict, "I bow to the verdict of the court. As amicus curiae I was given full opportunity to say all that I could in his defence. Let us take pride in our judicial system which adheres to due process, whoever be the accused and whatever be the crime." Mr Ramachandran had argued that Kasab had not been given a fair trial, a plea that the Supreme Court today rejected. He also told the bench that Kasab was not a part of the larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation.
On behalf of the Maharashtra government, Gopal Subramanium had argued that Kasab should be hanged as he was a part of the conspiracy to wage war against India and fuel communal tension. Kasab had moved the Supreme Court on February 14 this year against the High Court verdict of October 10 last year, which upheld a lower court order sentencing the 25-year-old terrorist to death. The lower court had pronounced its judgement on May 6, 2010, 18 months after he was captured.
Even as Kasab's trial has continued, the cost of keeping him alive has been a huge burden on the state exchequer. While the Government has spent over Rs. 5 crores on his high security cell at Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, his security, entrusted to the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), has cost the state over Rs. 19 crores. The judgement of Supreme Court is welcomed by the people of the country as Kasab’s security was costing crores. And it was also demotivating the security personals of the country who had nabbed Kasab after a tough battle.
