26/11 Mumbai attacks: SC reserves order on Kasab plea

During the argument,Kasab contended that he was not given a free and fair trial and that he was not the part of any larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation.

He had also maintained that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against him beyond doubts and told the bench that his right against self-incrimination as well as his right to get himself adequately represented by a counsel to defend himself in the case had been violated during the trial.

25-year-old Kasab,had filed the appeal from jail challenging his conviction and death sentence. The apex court had appointed senior advocate Raju Ramachandran as amicus curiae to argue on behalf of Kasab.

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had earlier told the bench that 26/11 Mumbai terror attack was carried out with a 8220;calculated8221; design,aimed at causing communal tension in the country by projecting that it was the handiwork of Indian Muslims.

The apex court had stayed Kasab8217;s death sentence on October 10 last year.

In his special leave petition SLP challenging the Bombay High Court judgement,which confirmed his death sentence,Kasab had claimed he was brainwashed like a 8220;robot8221; into committing the crime in the name of 8220;God8221; and pleaded that he does deserve the death penalty due to his young age.

Kasab,who is lodged in Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai,had filed the SLP through the jail authorities.

Kasab,along with nine other Pakistani terrorists,had landed in south Mumbai on November 26,2008 night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks,in which 166 people were killed.

While Kasab was captured alive,the other terrorists in his group had been killed by security forces during the counter-terror operations. He was sentenced to death by a

special anti-terror court on May 6,2010.

The Bombay High Court had upheld on February 21 last year the trial court8217;s order of death sentence to Kasab for the 8220;brutal and diabolical8221; attacks aimed at 8220;destabilising8221; the government.

Kasab8217;s death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy,waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The high court had upheld Kasab8217;s conviction on 19 counts under the IPC,the Arms Act,the Explosives Act,the Explosive Substances Act,the Foreigners Act,the Passport Act and the Railway Act.