The court has asked the prosecution to start with its arguments on the quantum of sentencing to be awarded to the convicts from Monday.
"It was just work, work, work for me for nine continuous years and I think my efforts have paid off," said the special public prosecutor in the 7/11 case, Raja Thakare. The special MCOCA court on Friday convicted 12 of the 13 arrested accused.
The court has asked the prosecution to start with its arguments on the quantum of sentencing to be awarded to the convicts from Monday. The prosecution said it is going to refer to past judgments passed in various cases, awarding capital punishment to the convicts, the most recent being Yakub Memon.
"I will see what view has been taken in past judgments of capital punishment passed by the Supreme court and, accordingly, ask for the same. All have been held guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and murder, besides several MCOCA charges, thus anyway attracting the maximum punishment of death, but we shall see what the law commission says," he said.
Thakare added that he will base his arguments on facts and judgments and will be rational. "As a human, it would be difficult to ignore the death penalty. Also, we will have to keep in mind that law must respond to the society's cry for justice; thus, I shall apply my mind and seek for punishment accordingly."
When asked about his first reaction to the conviction, Thakare said, "I am happy that at least the police who had appointed me as special prosecutor in the case would be satisfied that I have not betrayed the confidence bestowed on me."
"The prosecution was able to prove that the first meet of the accused, to conspire the blast, was in Bandra and, later, the assembling of the explosives was in Govandi. The court must have considered these facts," he said when questioned what, according to him, the court would have gone with while delivering the verdict.
Thakare added that the investigating agency had gone about systematically and logically in arresting the accused as well as collecting evidence.
When asked if the prosecution's theory of causing explosion in a pressure cooker was turned down, Thakare said, "The theory of pressure cooker had cropped up in the confessional statements of the convicts. But they hadn't used the word 'pressure cooker' anywhere, they had said 'utensils'. Thus, it was accordingly replaced."
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