Mumbai: You have been sentenced to death on four counts. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead. Yeh hamara tareeka hai (This is our way), judge M L Tahaliyani told Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, bringing him to justice 17 months after he and his nine accomplices held Mumbai to a 60 hour siege and killed 166 innocent men, women and children. The mood in the courtroom was sombre. Kasab did not react. He kept his head down and was immediately whisked away. Throughout the after-noon, the baby-faced killer sat absolutely still in the box while the judge gave detailed reasons why it was necessary to give him the harshest possible penalty. This man has lost the right to get any relief, Tahaliyani observed.
The court held that in view of the depravity of Kasabs crimes, any chance of his reform or rehabilitation was totally ruled out. Describing the 22-year-old LeT terrorist as a menace to society, Tahaliyani alluded to the 1999 Kandahar case, when an Indian plane was hijacked to free dangerous terrorists who were imprisoned at that time. Keeping him alive would be a constant danger to the state, he said.
JUST DESSERTS FOR TERRORIST - 5 Counts On Which He Got Death Rap
For seven people killed directly by bullets fired from Kasabs AK-47
For 65 other deaths in which he was an accomplice of Abu Ismail
For LeT conspiracy which led to 166 deaths
For waging war against the Indian state
For a terrorist act under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
5 Counts On Which He Got Life Term
Attempt to murder
Kidnapping of boat Kubers navigator
Conspiracy to wage war against India
Collecting arms etc. with an intention to wage war against the government of India
Under the Explosives Act
WHEN WILL HE HANG
Under Section 366 of the Cr PC, the death sentence will be automatically sent up to the Bombay high court for confirmation. If its confirmed, Kasab could file a mercy petition before the President. There are 50 such petitions pending over the years. Experts say govt need not insist on chronological order and can fast-track a petition depending upon its urgency.
Times View
This paper is philosophically opposed to the death sentence but ever so rarely there comes a crime that is so cold-blooded and so heinous that it forces us to make an exception. The manner in which Kasab and his partner walked into one of the busiest railway stations in the world and gunned down defence-less men, women and children in plain sight left no room for even the shadow of a doubt about their guilt. Some would argue that the death sentence serves our basest instinct for revenge, that it is not the answer to crime. But terror is unlike any other crime. Besides,keeping Kasab alive runs the risk of another Kandahar, when a plane was hijacked to extract the release of three dreaded terrorists.
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Keeping him alive is a danger to state: Judge
Judge M L Tahaliyani, while handing out a death sentence to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab on Thursday, said Keeping him alive would be a constant danger to government and the state. The judge made special mention of the merciless way in which people were killed at CST. Brutality was writ large on Kasabs face when he fired indiscriminately at people. It was visible in the photographs taken of him at CST, he observed. In a message to terrorist organisations which target India, the judge made it absolutely clear that every man who wages war against India forfeits his life to the Indian state. Kasab voluntarily went to Lashkar-e-Taiba and offered his services as a mujahideen, he said. Throughout the proceedings Kasab sat quietly ,face nestled in his palm,and looking down at the ground. He spoke to a guard just once to ask for water. Before sentencing him, Judge Tahaliyani gave him one last chance to speak. He explained to him that his crimes warranted death, and he could tell the court if there was anything on his mind. Kasab, however, declined the privilege and slumped back on his bench slowly.
The judge reminded the defence lawyer that evidence showed that Kasab had several opportunities to leave the LeT training camp but was determined to stay on and attack India. When the strike was delayed and group was told to stay put in Karachi, Kasab was anxious about when he would get an opportunity to attack, Tahaliyani said. Describing the extreme terror Mumbai faced on 26/11, the judge referred to recordings of telephonic conversations between the gunmen holed up at various locations and their handlers sitting in Pakistan. There was no remorse at the killing of so many people. The gunmen had come prepared to die, he said. The Supreme Court has said that while sentencing a man to death, the judge must prepare a balance sheet of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. In Kasabs case, Tahaliyani said he could not find a single mitigating factor.
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(source-toi)
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