26/11 trial on last leg,brother steps in for Azmi

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said,“I am preparing my arguments; my efforts will be to build a detailed argument to convince the court on roles played by each accused in the conspiracy and the criminal conspiracy hatched on Pakistani soil to wage war against India.”

Kasab’s lawyer KP Pawar said,“I am going through the evidence and preparing my defence; the time given by the court should be sufficient for me.”

“This is my first big criminal trial. Earlier I used to appear at the Kurla magistrate court mostly and sometimes on bail applications at sessions court. However,I did not hesitate to take up the case when Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind approached me to defend Ansari after my brother’s demise; I wanted to take up my brother’s cause,” said Azmi who has been practising for a year.

Special sessions judge ML Tahaliyani on Tuesday rejected the plea of lawyer Ejaz Naqvi,representing accused Sabahuddin Ahmed,to examine the chief of the National Investigating Agency,director Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul Bhatt and others to prove that David Headley,who has been arrested by the FBI, had done the actual recce of the 26/11 targets.

“It’s not clear to the petitioner what benefit he will be getting by examining the witnesses,” he said.

On Wednesday,the prosecution will submit four more affidavits as formal evidence.