May 3: In the cases of the two Indian co-accused, Sabauddin Ahmed and Faheem Ansari, the special court in Mumbai held that although it was not expecting the prosecution to prove by any direct evidence, the charges of conspiracy against the two accused and their alleged participation in providing vital information to the terrorists, and even the circumstantial evidence, failed to prove any charges.
Mr Tahiliyani said, “I have come to the conclusion that there was no quality in the evidence. I am not inspired to come to the conclusion that the accused are guilty of conspiracy.”
“The prosecution’s evidence against these two accused is doubtful and hence the benefit of doubt must go to them,” the judge said.
The court observed that the story of maps that were found in Kasab’s possession was not reliable. The court said Ansari’s lawyer, R.B. Mokashi, was right in pointing out that if the maps were in the pocket of the accused from November 22, 2008, till the police seized them on November 26, then they should had been wrinkled to some extent.
Moreover, there were no bloodstains on the maps, though the trouser pockets from which they were recovered were soiled with blood.
The court also observed that when the accused had used modern technology — like GPS and VOIP — was it not possible for them to use Google Earth or Wikipedia to get proper maps and not have to rely on scrawls on a scrap of paper. Sabauddin’s wife, who was present in court, later faced the media and expressed her gratitude and happiness that her husband had been acquitted.