Second Life

On March 12, 1993, Pramod Kode was in Room 22 of the sessions court. Just when he was in the middle of a judgment, a deafening explosion from Bombay Stock Exchange and another from Air-India building disrupted the verdict. That was just his first brush with the Mumbai blasts-months later he was designated special TADA judge in the Bombay Blast Cases. As part of his job, Kode had to go through 13,000 pages of oral evidence, 7,000 pages of documentary evidence, and 6,700 pages of statements. Kode succeeded the then judge J N Patel on March 28, 1996. Since then, he has not missed a single day in court and sometimes worked on holidays. He didn8217;t miss court even when his mother died in 1999 and father in 2001. Last month, he met with an accident and took his took his first sick leave. Popular with the accused, he is known to be sensitive. Before convicting 83-year-old Dawood Phanse, he enquired about his health in and told him to take his medicines properly. A huge Diwali greeting card made by the accused is pinned on the notice board of the court. He also allowed over 90 people bail after the conviction began just based on the trust he had on the accused. But his sensitive side didn8217;t come between him and the judgment. Among the 100 of 123 people convicted, the court has sentenced 12 people to death and 20 people to life. Not surprising then that Kode has received eight threats, all of through letters, mostly in unidentifiable Urdu, that ask him to be rehemdil benevolent. That makes him the most protected judge on the Z-security list. The case has also robbed the judge of a family or social life. A religious man, he keeps fast once a week and goes to temples regularly. Kode graduated from SIES College in science and switched to law at the Government Law College. After his LLB, he practised in the Thane district and Sessions Court and made his first representation in 1977. After nine years, he was appointed additional public prosecutor in Thane. In 1991, he was made Sessions judge in Bombay. There are rumours that he could be elevated as a high court judge like his predecessor, but there8217;s nothing definite about that.

Menaka Rao

FARHANA SHAH
DEFENCE LAWYER

8216;I AM REALLY CUT OFF FROM PRACTICE. EVERYBODY IN SESSIONS AND HIGH COURT HAS FORGOTTEN ME8217;

In the past 14 years, Farhana Shah 42 lost her father, got married, and had two children. The only constant in all these years strangely has been the 1993 serial blasts case. Appointed amicus curaie friend of court almost since its inception, she has been an angel to all the 123 accused in the case toiling for them without asking for much in return. Farhana or aapa elder sister as she is fondly called, began her career working under advocate P S Sardar in 1991. 8221;In 1993, our chambers got a few matters of the blast. I started going to court then.8221; The then judge J N Patel appointed her as amicus curie for Janu Kamblya Vedkoli, a resident of Raigad who had rented his vessel to throw cartons full of arms and ammunition. 8221;I got him out on bail in 1994. Vedkoli, a poor man who had no clue what was there in the carton when he disposed it off was almost shocked with relief when he came out. The others got a ray of hope. That was such a satisfying experience,8221; she said. Since then she almost has a full attendance in court. She started assisting all the top lawyers-Nitin Pradhan, Harshad Ponda, Rajendra Singh, Kapil Sibal, P R Vakil and several others. 8221;Although I was not their junior, all insisted that I assist them,8221; she said. When most of her peers had moved on in their careers, she kept her commitment with clients. 8221;I am really cut off from practice. Everybody in sessions and high court had forgotten me. People do not see you regularly; they think you8217;ve given up practice. Senior lawyer N Raja would joke whenever he met me in court-parole se chutke aayi ho?8221; she chuckles. In those years, she became close to the accused. 8221;I think I have spent more time with the accused than their own relatives. We were almost a family,8221; she said. When she got married in 1998, all the accused were happy for her. 8221;When I was expecting, they would make sure I am not stressing myself physically,8221;she says emotionally. Now with most of the accused shifted out of Arthur Road Jail, Farhana is heart-broken. 8221;Ab route mera change ho gaya hai,8221; she said

Menaka Rao

UJJWAL NIKAM
SPECIAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, TADA COURT

8217;I HAVE BEEN VISITING THE COURT AT ARTHUR ROAD JAIL FOR SO LONG THAT WHEN THE SENTENCING WAS OVER, I FELT AS IF I WAS RELEASED FROM JAIL

Ujjwal Nikam has been a central figure in the trial. Nikam, who belongs to Jalgaon in Maharashtra, did a BSc and then LLB in 1978 before becoming Jalgaon8217;s district public prosecutor-a post he held till 1987. In May 1993, he was appointed special public prosecutor in the Bombay Blasts Case. 8221;Many eyebrows were raised over my appointment because a little known lawyer from a rural background had been chosen over others. People were eager to see what I was capable of. I stayed with the case while the judge and many defence lawyers changed. I took it up as a national mission,8221; says Nikam, the son of a barrister, and the father of two children. Nikam, the only public prosecutor in the country to be given special security cover by a state, has been successful in getting life imprisonments for 605 accused, including 20 in the 1993 blasts case. He has been responsible for death sentences given to 26 accused, including 12 in the 1993 cases. Nikam has handled other high profile cases such as the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the Marine Drive rape case in which constable Sunil More was sentenced to 12 years, the JNPT arms haul case and the Pramod Mahajan murder. But it8217;s the blasts case that has given him the most recognition. But the years weren8217;t easy. 8221;It was really difficult, as it involved an incredibly high number of witnesses. I will always remember two days in my life. November 4, 1993 because that was the day I filed a chargesheet in the case against 123 accused. I remember hundreds of journalists and photographers speaking to me and taking my photographs. I felt like I was the PM. It was really exciting for me. The second date is July 31, 2007 when the sentencing came to an end. I had been visiting the TADA court in Arthur Road Jail for so long, I felt as if I had been finally released from jail.8221;

Sagnik Chowdhury

SUBHASH KANSE
DEFENCE LAWYER

8216;I WAS AWAY FROM THE HUB OF ALL PRACTICE, THE SESSION COURT, AND LOST A LOT OF CASES. PEOPLE WOULD CALL ME THE BRIEFLESS LAWYER8217;

Subhash Kanse, 53, became part of the 1993 serial blasts case by default. Kanse began appearing for the eight members of the Memon family with his senior, Majeed Memon in 1994. 8221;Majeed saab asked me if I was ready to go to TADA on a daily basis as it was tedious. I thought it was just a question of two or four years and agreed. Do char bolte bolte aaj 2007 ho gaya hai,8221; says Kanse. The TADA court is at least 40 minutes from the city civil and session court in Kala Ghoda where most criminal lawyers practice. 8221;The only difference between us lawyers and the accused was that they would go to jail and we would go home,8221; he jokes. His commitment to the trial cost Kanse some crucial career moves. 8221;I was away from the hub of all practicesession court. Being locked up in this court, I lost a lot of practice-which means financial loss too. People would call me the briefless lawyer,8221; he said. But the experience has been valuable. 8221;I got to learn from top lawyers. Arguing in this court made me bolder than I was,8221; said Kanse. At special judge P D Kode8217;s instance, Kanse also argued for four accused who couldn8217;t afford lawyers. One of them, Shaikh Babulal has been acquitted. After the serial train blasts on July 11 last year, some Shiv Sena people visited Kanse in his Mahim home, threatening him not to take up the case of the accused in the 7/11 case. 8221;I quietly told them that no one has approached me. And also told them that I will not finish my duties related to this trial and only then quit,8221; said Kanse.

Menaka Rao

V V GAVAS
DEPUTY REGISTRAR

8216;Many of us have not taken leave for over four years8217;

Having a jail as a workplace is quite unusual but when you have spent as much time at one as deputy registrar V V Gavas has at Arthur Road Jail, it ceases to be. Gayas, who is retiring in a year, has been assisting special judge P D Kode and before him, judge J N Patel, in conducting the serial blasts trial. Starting his career in the city civil and session court in March 1973, Gavas was sent to the specially designated TADA court on April 2, 1993 with the then special judge, J N Patel. Like most others, Gavas also thought that this trial would get over in four years or so. Now he is authority on the case. 8221;This is a job like no other. We court staff have worked very hard. We did not take holidays very often. In the early years, judge Patel said that we should not take too many holidays as the trial is just beginning. When judge Kode came, he said that I know nothing about the case and I need you to explain it to me. Many of us have not taken leave for over four years,8221; Gavas said. As Gavas says, life for all of them 8211; Aruna Kamat stenographer, Ravindra Pawar Xerox machine operator, L J Navre constable, Sitaram Borade peon and Rajendra Patel, Judge Kode8217;s clerk-has not been easy all these years in court. 8221;There is a sense of being cut-off from the world is something one cannot escape here. Once we enter this court, which is actually a jail we do not go out. In the city where the sessions court is, we had more people to talk to. Here we are seeing the same people everyday,8221; he says.

Menaka Rao

RAMAN TYAGI
DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, CBI SPECIAL TASK FORCE

8216;I have been living with the case for the past 13 years. It8217;s become a part of my life8217;

The greater part of the last 13 years for Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI Special Task Force STF, Raman Tyagi, have been consumed by the 1993 Bombay Bomb Blasts case. Rattling off facts and figures of the case and minute details of each accused8217;s involvement in the blasts, he is virtually an encyclopedia on the case. His association with the case began in November 1993, when he was posted as Police Inspector in the CBI8217;s STF, to investigate the blasts. Prior to this, he was posted at the CBI8217;s Anti Corruption Wing in Mumbai from 1988, and served in Dehra Dun before that. Tyagi, who belongs to Meerut, joined the police force in 1983. 8221;I have been living with the case for the past 13 years. I have played a role in the arrests of more than 10 accused in the case 8211; Salim Kurla, the Memmons, Murad Khan, Eijaz Pathan, Abu Salem, Mustaffa Dossa, Shahnawaz Khan, Nasir Daklia, Jameer Kazi and Mujib Parkar.8221; Tyagi8217;s record speaks for him. On August 15, 1999, he was awarded the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service. His career highs include the arrests of Harshad Mehta in 1992 and Dr. Jalees Ansari, the main accused in the train blasts carried out across the country on the intervening night of December 5 and 6, 1993. Besides this, he has also busted several major banking scandals. 8221;The trial has come to an end now. However, it is no reason to rejoice. We were given a task, and we have completed it. Of course, there is a certain satisfaction I take in the fact that a message has been sent out to the world 8211; the rule of law in India still exists, and no criminal can go free,8221; says Tyagi. The most memorable bit of his work was the arrest of Salim Kurla. The sentencing may be over, but Tygai8217;s work is far from over. 8221;There are several others who need to be convicted like Abu Salem, Riyaz Siddique and Mustaffa Dossa. Besides, one of the main challenges will be to ensure that none of those convicted get a reprieve from the Supreme Court. We will also challenge the inadequacy of some of the sentences pronounced by the TADA court. Besides this, there are still 37 absconders in the case. Another task is to attach the properties of many of the accused in the bomb blasts.8221; Tyagi has also been made the investigating officer of the Malegaon serial bomb blasts.

Sagnik Chowdhury