Kasab gets two new lawyers

During the 26/11 trial,too,two lawyers had been appointed for Kasab. The member secretary of the authority,K K Sonawane,said,The two were shortlisted by our executive chairman Justice J N Patel from a list of senior lawyers. Their consents were sought and both agreed,so they will be paid legal fees on par with remuneration given to public prosecutors of the state appearing in death sentence confirmation matters.

The authority has 36 lawyers on its panel and a few had been shortlisted based on their experience and political backgrounds. There were some lawyers who did not want to take up the case. Finally the panel selected these two lawyers, Sonawane said.

The focus was on legal experience to ensure a fair appeal. Another factor taken into account,sources said,was how capable the lawyers were likely to be in winning Kasabs confidence. During the 26/11 trial,Kasab hardly spoke to K P Pawar,appointed his lawyer after the sacking of Abbas Kazmi.