Trial court's death penalty verdict flawed: Kasab

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Ajmal Kasab, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict and Pakistani terrorist, on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the reasoning by the trial court while awarding him death penalty was flawed.

Amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Kasab, asked the apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice C.K. Prasad to expressly reject the 'pragmatic factors' that were allegedly factored in by the trial court in awarding death sentence to Kasab.

As amicus curiae slammed the trial court decision, Justice Alam said that neither of these considerations made sense to the court that if he was kept alive another Kandahar (the 1999 swapping of Pakistani terrorists with Indian hostages in Afghanistan) will take place and if he was awarded death sentence there could be reprisals.

The apex court inquired if the "expenses of keeping such a convict alive was for the legislature to decide and not for the court to take into consideration".

Ramachandran said that the cost of keeping the convict could not be factored in by the trial court.

The court was hearing an appeal by Kasab challenging the upholding of his death sentence by the Bombay High court Feb 21, 2011.

Kasab was one of 10 Pakistanis who illegally sailed into India from Pakistan and launched the Nov 26, 2008 mayhem in Mumbai killing 166 people, including many foreigners.