Former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the state government, contended that Kasab was never tortured or maltreated and there has been no violation of his constitutional rights.
Refuting all the allegations put forth by the sole convict Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that he has been given a fair trial.
Former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the state government, contended that Kasab was never tortured or maltreated and there has been no violation of his constitutional rights.
“At no point of time was he tortured or maltreated by the authorities and there has been no failure of constitutional rights given to him,” he submitted before a bench comprising Justices Aftam Alam and CK Prasad.
Subramaniam also submitted that death sentence, which has been awarded to Kasab, is a permissible means of punishment.
Drawing reference to the entire sequence of events leading to the attack, which was planned by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan, Subramaniam submitted that had Kasab not been caught alive, it would not have been possible to know that outsiders were also involved in the mayhem.
Subramaniam also contended that Kasab was not just a member of LeT, but had in fact rubbed shoulders with the top leadership and masterminds behind LeT, including Hufeez Muhammad Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
“The attacks were in fact intended to be portrayed as attacks by Indian Muslims in order to provoke unrest in the country,” Subramaniam asserted before the bench.
However, the arguments remain inconclusive and shall resume February 16.
Kasab had on Tuesday pleaded before the court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who has been appointed amicus curiae by the apex court to defend Kasab, had told the bench that he was not a part of the larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation.
The apex court had on October 10 2011 stayed the death sentence of Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved in the November 2008 Mumbai attack.
Kasab, along with nine other Pakistani terrorists, had landed at Budhwar Park in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008, night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks, leaving 166 people dead and many more wounded.
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