Kasab assault video in court,ruling today

The prosecution submitted the CCTV grabs Tuesday to back up its opposition to the lawyers’ plea for such an interview in Arthur Road jail. The assault happened September 1,prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice R V More. Kasab was “performing some illegal act”,jail staff intervened and he assaulted them,Nikam said,adding Kasab is a trained commando who can pose danger to his own life as well as those of guards.

“An officer is present within four feet of Kasab,since the incident. Even during the trial,Kasab had tried to endanger his own life as well as those of jail staff,” Nikam said. Lawyer Amin Solkar countered Kasab is uncomfortable answering questions with guards so close. He argued communication between a lawyer and his client is privileged conversation and policemen cannot be privy to it. Nikam said the presentation of evidence is already complete and there cannot be any privileged communication between lawyer and client.

Jail superintendent Rajendra Dhamne,in an affidavit,said Kasab is a trained commando capable of very swift movements. Normally,one jail guard is deployed for a convicted prisoner,but considering Kasab’s “dangerous nature and wild behavior”,officers are deployed round the clock and CCTV camera installed to monitor his movements,Dhamne said.

He cited rule 11 of Maharashtra Prisons Rules,1962,that every interview with a convicted prisoner shall take place in the presence and within the hearing of a jail staff member. The rule also states that during such an interview,a prisoner sentenced to death,and his friends or legal advisers shall not be allowed to approach each other.

Appeal against death filed,cites 54 grounds
The lawyers for 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab filed his appeal against his death sentence in the Bombay High Court today. “Some of the major grounds are that the prosecution has failed to prove the charge of conspiracy,and the identification of Kasab in court by eyewitnesses can be only be called substantive as his pictures were flashed in all media well before the identification parade could be held. Another ground is that the confessional statement of Kasab is the only piece of evidence heavily relied on by the prosecution to bring home the guilt against him,” lawyer Amin Solkar said.

The appeal,filed late Tuesday evening,comprises 28 pages and challenges the conviction on 54 grounds. Solkar said the appeal would be taken up for hearing along with two other appeals,one against the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed and the other the government’s plea for confirmation of death sentence.

The court has decided to hear both matters on a day-to-day basis from October 18 and allowed Kasab to appear through video conferencing.