Kasab smiles as Bombay HC upholds 26/11 death sentence

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Ujjwal Nikam, special prosecuter in 26/11 case, shows victory sign as he leaves the trial court in Mumbai

Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab smiled and grinned as a grim division bench of the Bombay high court on Monday upheld the death sentence awarded to him by a lower court for the killings during the 26/11 terrorist strike, lawyers said.

Two Indians, Ansari and Ahmed, however, were let off for want of adequate evidence by the trial court.

He appeared before the division bench comprising Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice R.V. More through a video-conferencing from his cell in the Arthur Road Central Jail, shortly after 11 a.m.

Kasab walked in nonchalantly, smiling away before the camera as the judges dismissed an appeal filed by his counsel, challenging the death sentence given to him by Special Court Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani in May 2010.

"It is the rarest of rare cases. If he is not awarded the death penalty, then people might lose faith in the judicial process," the bench grimly observed.

The court upheld the four counts on which Kasab was slapped with the death sentence by special judge Tahaliyani last May, including the killing of three top Mumbai police officials - former anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte.

A total of 166 persons were killed in the mayhem let loose by Kasab and nine other Pakistani gunmen during the 60-hour Mumbai shooting spree at various landmarks including CST railway terminus, iconic Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and Nariman House, a Jewish outreach centre, leaving 166 dead and many more wounded.

While Kasab was the sole gunman caught alive, his nine accomplices were killed in the encounter with the combined security officials.