Dial M(ock) for President: Nikam wants Patil to speed up mercy pleas

The talk show Khupte Thithe Gupte,hosted by music director-turned-film director-turned anchor Avdoot Gupte is aired every Friday and Saturday and features noted people from different walks of life.

The talk show has a segment in which guests makes a mock call to whoever they want. For instance,senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde,who had come on the show weeks ago,made a mock call to senior BJP leader,his late friend and brother-in-law Pramod Mahajan.

Interestingly,Kasab’s case is yet to reach the Supreme Court and is then expected to reach the President’s doors,depending upon the punishment the apex court decides on.

Addressing Patil as Taisaheb (as she is usually called),Nikam said that there is discontent among people over the delay in the execution of the punishment. Taking a dig at Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru,he said: “People often ask me for how long would these hardened criminals and terrorists be fed on the tax payers’ money? This is the basic question that comes to people’s mind and it has to be answered at the earliest. If the law of the land prevails,shouldn’t the same be implemented properly? I know that the decision on this is not entirely yours (Patil’s).”

“Why is the entire process being delayed? Justice should not be simply dispensed,but should also be felt as if it has been dispensed. I’m hopeful that in your tenure you will come with a new law wherein people’s queries on this would be sorted. I still remember that after taking charge,you had said that you won’t be a mere rubber stamp,” Nikam added.

“Taisaheb,even you are a lawyer and I understand this. Since I’m from Jalgaon,I can ask you this with some kind of authority. People have several queries and different political parties make use of it and stain the scenario without any reason. I agree with your problem,but we have capital punishment as per law and even the apex court says it is given for the rarest of the rare cases,” he went on.

Nikam has been a special public prosecutor in many important cases,including the 1993 Mumbai blast case,the 2003 Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar blast,and the blast in a local train at Kalyan engineered by Khalistani terrorists.