The Maharashtra government on Wednesday was not ready to yield even an inch to Pakistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai attack and made a forceful plea before the Supreme Court that the death sentence was awarded to him by the trial judge under the “permissible” sentencing policy of the country provided under the Constitution and the law for such heinous crimes against the nation and the society.
Dismissing the arguments of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, provided to Kasab by the top court, former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the Maharashtra government, said “the death sentence to Kasab was awarded as per the permissible means of punishment recognised under our Constitution and the law.”
In response to Ramachandran’s argument that Kasab was not involved in the criminal conspiracy to wage a war against India, Maharashtra government’s lawyer said such an assertion was not sustainable as he and nine other terrorists killed by the security forces were in “constant touch” with their masterminds in Pakistan via satellite phones.
“The call records show that they were having direct conversation in Pakistan in Punjabi or Hindi with Punjabi accent. Besides, all the equipment and weapons with them, including mobile phones, assault rifles and engine of the boat they used to reach Indian shores were either made in Pakistan or sold to Pakistan by foreign countries,” the counsel said while emphasising that all these were hard evidence collected by the Maharashtra ATS to prove the involvement of Kasab and his fellow terrorists in the “conspiracy” to wage a war against India.