On May 22, Kasab, wrote a letter to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority asking for a legal aid to file an appeal in the Bombay high court on his behalf.
The lawyer who will defend Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman arrested during 26/11 attacks, will be decided by June 8.
On May 22, Kasab, who is presently lodged in a high-security cell inside the Arthur Road jail, wrote a letter to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) asking for a legal aid (a lawyer provided by the state government to a financially weak litigant) to file an appeal in the Bombay high court on his behalf.
“I need an advocate to defend me in the Bombay high court against the death penalty awarded to me,” states the one-page letter written by Kasab in Urdu.
The letter was translated in English by jail authorities and was forwarded to MSLSA on May 28.
The matter is presently under consideration of the executive chairman of MSLSA and acting chief justice JN Patel. “According to instructions, we will start the procedure once the court reopens on June 7. We will finalise the name of a legal aid by June 8,” said KK Sonawane, member secretary, MSLSA.
The role of the MSLSA is to assign a lawyer to the applicant. Once the lawyer is handed over a brief, he deals with the applicant and takes care of the case.
At present there are 36 lawyers on the panel of MSLSA, including advocate Anjali Waghmare, who was first appointed to represent Kasab. As per the norms, the department can either appoint one of the available 36 advocates or it can also appoint an independent senior lawyer in interest of justice.
“Generally, a lawyer is selected keeping in mind the nature of the case. We will have to consider the seriousness of the case, and keeping that in mind we may hand over the case to the senior-most lawyer,” Sonawane said.
The MSLSA has a pre-decided fee structure for the advocates on its panel. “Each advocate is paid according to the nature of the case and the stage of the case proceedings,” said Sonawane.
Once Kasab’s legal aid is decided, the advocate will prepare an appeal challenging the death sentence.
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