It is a question that has put lawyers in the city in a spot - does captured terrorist Ajmal Amir deserve the right to seek legal representation in India?
It is a question that has put lawyers in the city in a spot - does captured terrorist Ajmal Amir deserve the right to seek legal representation in India?
Mumbai’s lawyers do not seem to think so. Members of the Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Courts’ Bar Association passed a resolution stating no lawyer would take up the task. On Monday, an Amravati lawyer, Mahesh Deshmukh, who wanted to represent Ajmal, allegedly faced the ire of Shiv Sainiks.
Lawyers have made their stand and law students seem to agree. Pranav Javeri, a second year law student from KC College explains, “He is not an Indian citizen; he has committed a crime against the state and has killed innocent people.” He adds that Ajmal may have a right to counsel legally, but every case depends on the situation. “Get all the information out of him when he is alive and then have him executed,” he says.
Fellow student Vinita Joshi prefers to listen to her heart. “A part of me says he needs to be represented. But right now, my heart is making the decision that Ajmal does not deserve counsel.” Given a choice between following the law and following her personal beliefs, Vinita chooses the latter. “I know that eventually, the law will overrule my personal beliefs,” she feels.
Suhail Shariff considers Ajmal the exception to Article 22: an enemy alien. “How can you defend such a person?” he argues. Although a strong believer in the constitution, he would rather see the terrorist denied legal counsel. “Given the opportunity, I would never represent him.”
For young, to-be-lawyers sentiment rules. But there are some who believe that no one can be denied the right to a fair trial. Mithibai student Vrunda Peres says, “We Indians are an emotional lot. If we do not give him a fair trial now, our conscience will prick us years later. I urge others not to allow their hatred to overshadow the fact that he is a human being and deserves to be tried. He is guilty and should be hanged to death in public, but after being tried.”
What the law saysArticle 22 (protection against arrest and detention in certain cases) states:
- No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.
-Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to court, and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
-Nothing in clauses (1) and (2) applies:
(a) To any person who for the time being is an enemy alien.
(b) To any person arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention.
l_joanna@dnaindia.net
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