June 19, 2013 | Shaba'an 9, 1434


Indian Supreme Court upholds death penalty for Kasab

Agencies
Updated 2012-09-02 04:22:13

kasab1_ap-670

kasab1_ap-670

This Nov 26, 2008, file photo shows Kasab walking at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai. — Photo by AP

NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of a group of militants who attacked the country's financial capital, Mumbai, in 2008 killing 166 people.

“We are left with no option but to award death penalty,” the two judges said in a court order.

“The primary and foremost offence committed by Kasab is waging war against the government of India.”

“The Supreme Court has today dismissed the appeal of Mohammad Kasab,” Gopal Subramaniam, a lawyer for the prosecution, told reporters after the verdict.

The judges had opened the appeal by Kasab, who is being held in a maximum-security prison in Mumbai, in January.

After losing his Supreme Court petition, Kasab is expected to lodge a final appeal for clemency with the president.

Kasab, a Pakistani national, was found guilty on more than 80 charges in May 2010, including murder and waging war on India, and was sentenced to death by hanging.

He was filmed walking through Mumbai's main train station carrying an AK-47 and a knapsack on his back during an attack in which nearly 60 people were gunned down.

It was part of a series of coordinated strikes on key landmarks in the city, including luxury hotels and a Jewish centre.

The three-day rampage led to an increase in tension between India and Pakistan, causing a temporary suspension of peace talks.

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Comments are closed.

Comments (85)

ANIL
August 30, 2012 7:23 am
as if BJP leaders are innocent :P
Vineeth
August 30, 2012 6:11 am
Believe me, a quick drop to death is too little and too quick a punishment for a heinous crime, and it is state-sponsored murder. And for a terrorist willing to give up his life for his cause, death penalty is no big deal. Instead, keep him in solitary confinement till his death with no chance of parole or visitors, with the same bland, but nutritious, food given everyday o sustain him. He should not be allowed to see even the daylight, and there will be no TV or any other form of entertainment. By law, the government should have no authorization to release him even under exceptional circumstances (like as ransom), unless the person is proven inncocent later in the highest court of law. The person will soon beg the authorities to hang him and spare the ordeal.
Dharmik
August 29, 2012 4:53 pm
What about the masterminds of the mumbai mayhem? Bringing the brain behind this massacre to justice is the real solace to the victims. This verdict is only a water wash.
Concerned Netizen
August 29, 2012 1:10 pm
What is wrong if he is prasing the LORD in his own way? Lets not start judging people just because they are different.
Zeus
August 29, 2012 12:55 pm
Yes naseer,you are right,color,cast ,country and ethnicity should not matter.A crimnal is a crimnal.
Neo
August 29, 2012 12:33 pm
lol... good one..
naseer
August 29, 2012 12:17 pm
a murderer whatsoever shape or form he comes,whether he is a terrorist,or a street killer should be punished hard.no body has the right to take another persons life.
shovonc
August 29, 2012 12:06 pm
Your bus is leaving!
Neo
August 29, 2012 11:59 am
ahmed bhai there is no point justifying anything to Jawad.. he is an ignorant pakistani much like all others over there.. totally blind and have no sense of understanding nor they know what is it to argue on completely baseless things... let them live as they want...
Shubs
August 29, 2012 11:59 am
so, the Jai Bajrangbali didn't get you the response you wanted, neither did the Jai Hanuman, now you're back with Har Har Mahadev and a new alias... you are very persistent
Gerry D'Cunha
August 29, 2012 11:55 am
Hats off to the justice system in India - the blood of 175+ people and their families may now have peace of mind.
simpu
August 29, 2012 11:54 am
Have you forgotten our intolerance. India killed sikhs in riots, muslims in Guhrat, Mumbai and in Assam, we damamaged mosque, hindus were killed after 84, christans were killes in Orrisa..dont pretend that we are from West Europe. You are from similar country like Pakistan with the difference that you kill nationally and they trian to kill internationally.
Shubs
August 29, 2012 11:53 am
" India is light years away from this kind of policy." Why? Are Indians stuck in a different era of evolution? India was the leading light of pacifism at one point in history. I wonder what Emperor Ashoka would have made of your thoughts...
simpu
August 29, 2012 11:50 am
Shakti hasnt said that Govt has no right but saying that Govt. should not have a right to take someone's life.
Shubs
August 29, 2012 11:50 am
" Why should legal aid be provided to such a terrorist?" Perhaps because we are a country governed by laws, where every accused has a right to a fair legal process? Or maybe you prefer the North Korean model?
simpu
August 29, 2012 11:49 am
in the west europe there is nothing like death sentence. Do not pass false information. What Shakti wants to say is that the state should not take someone else's life. If US does it it doesnt mean its good.
simpu
August 29, 2012 11:47 am
If they had not spent crores on Kasab then some Indian politician had lootes this amount in corruption
simpu
August 29, 2012 11:46 am
dont feel so proud. Remember, recently son of a retired army personal who now deals in weapon got 2 years of community service after killing 6 persons on road while driving under the influence of alcohol. Hit and run, drunk, he could not drive his car as one person was stuck in the wheels, so wan over him knowingly. This is just one single example.
jaffar
August 29, 2012 11:32 am
Even for such a cruel Kasab who killed no. of civilians staying at hotels also, is this rule applicable..
Aryan
August 29, 2012 11:16 am
No, India doesn't spend money on Defence as much as Pakistan. We spend more on 2G, 3G, Coal Gate, CWG and other scams. We are more interested in filling the Swiss bank accounts than killing your people. :-)
Abdul Khan (Pune India)
August 29, 2012 11:02 am
You pay so much tax to government and in return you mal-treatment from government workers and you are proud of your law. what a joke.
ROHIT PANDEY
August 29, 2012 10:54 am
I agree that the Indian legal system is creaky..but at least we do not have a Chief Justice who vows by religion to run the country's legal system as does the CJI of Pakistan,Iftikar Chaudhry!
Ahtasham
August 29, 2012 10:45 am
Sarabjit Singh who bomb blast in Pakistan (Lahore and Faisalabad) city and supreme court gave him death penalty but till now it is not implemented. Let see what is next????
Kunal
August 29, 2012 10:28 am
Why not ....Does the people of that nation are adverse to the idea of punishing a non muslim conyry by sending terrorist........i follow and watch pakistani channel where i see most of the pople support or endore any kind if attack on india to get Kashmir to humble india to release water or a valid tool to presurise india on deplomatic tables.....
ashwin
August 29, 2012 10:13 am
Too late a verdict. Crores of rupees has been wasted to keep this terrorist alive which could have been spent on better purposes. He should have been hanged in months. Kasab should be hanged outside CST station in full public view.
srk
August 29, 2012 10:07 am
SC bench did not say that the primary and foremost of offence committed by Kasab was waging war against the government of India. The bench held him guilty, first and foremost, of waging war against the country in the Mumbai terror attack case and said it was left with no option but to uphold the death sentence. The war was not against the government of India, it was against the country and its people. There is huge difference between the two.
Harshal
August 29, 2012 9:56 am
Currently In India there are estimated 3000 terrorists eating Biryani, Mutton , Kabaab everyday. We Indians pay taxes , that money is used by Congress Govt to feed terrorists
J.S.Acharya
August 29, 2012 9:55 am
In these days who would like to listen to such 'moral talk'.It is easily said and written in 'print'.Nobody can tolerate such suggestions.If one worm is hung who will remember him the next day?Public memory is short.Kasab will be forgotten and India can save money and expenditure incurred on him.
Harshal
August 29, 2012 9:53 am
Not only Kasab, Afzal Guru should also be hanged very soon
shakti
August 29, 2012 9:33 am
Why are we light years away? is crime rate any lower in countries that impose capital punishment than in the ones that do not? and how do you suggest that its okay for north European society and not us? Do their mothers love their kids less? that they can have a national consensus on not having death penalty and we seek retribution, does it not point to a flaw in our mental makeup? hasn't this point to us having reached a point where we seek revenge and not proper order of things? Wasn't seeking retribution was what Kasab was doing (at least in his mind)? Don't we have responsibility to provide our future generations a society where killing is condemned? Don't we need grow out of this hatred that we have for fellow human beings. I hate him, or rather his acts, as much as any one of you. I am not for a moment belittling the victims but surly by providing Kasab a martyr status we would. Then there would be people in world who would praise his sacrifice. Who would try and follow his path and seek retribution. Surely we can show our might and eliminate them or else we can put him behind bars and show how wrong Kasab is. He is no martyr. I don't know about you but i sure don't want him to be praised by anyone at all. Not even my enemies.
A Pakistani
August 29, 2012 9:30 am
He should be hanged to death.
r.s.soni
August 29, 2012 9:18 am
unless death is abolished by statute, death sentence will continue awarded..this isa present day reality. our j.p and acharya kriplani asked then janta goverenment to abolish death sentence, but they did not.agree. even now no forward movement has taken place towards abolishing death sentence. i feel rigorous imprisonment for life sentence will meet the justice
Jawad
August 29, 2012 9:02 am
Mr. Sultan you cannot be sultan of India even after you guys are least trusted minority to join indian army (less than 2%) so which india are you favouring for? Indian Muslims are being discriminated to get goverment jobs. http://escapefromindia.wordpress.com/2007/03/06/muslims-in-the-indian-army-only-2/ Until and unless indian army do not stop killings in Kashmir, 26/11 kind of incidents will continue.
Pavas Ambashta
August 29, 2012 8:59 am
What you are saying is perfectly correct but our constitution gives eveyone (including foreigners present on Indian soil) the right to defend himself legally (i.e. through a lawyer) in any legal process initiated against him in any Indian court of law.. So, only according to our constituional provisions the processes were carried against Kasab..Though it is surely amazing what took them to take 4 years in deciding the verdict..
girish
August 29, 2012 8:58 am
Dear shakti... please tell us what is the harshest punishment which should given to that terrorist.. if not death
Pavas Ambashta
August 29, 2012 8:50 am
I think you don't understand meaning of the word "martyr".. Martyr is someone who died for the sake of the welfare of the country or religion..How can this person could be called a martyr in India?? Maybe, for persons of skewed political and religious thinking he may be a so called "martyr" but surely not for India and Indians.. Although I respect your sense of humanity, I would strongly suggest you to go and meet the families of the deceased in Mumbai carnage before preaching your half baked ideas anywhere..
gullivan
August 29, 2012 8:41 am
shakti, you are a confused person. Death penalty is right and Govt has the right. The law of the land will prevail. - Gullivan
ss
August 29, 2012 8:38 am
Pakistanis shouldnt even say such things.pakistan cant even provide LIFE to its citizens.
000000000
August 29, 2012 8:27 am
i have proud of my Indian law .......it a good step
Guru
August 29, 2012 8:08 am
Try telling that to the families of the 175+ people who died. These policies may work well in a scandic/north europe societies. Even US & most of western Europe cannot stomach this. India is light years away from this kind of policy. Retribution has to be proportionate and not belittle the victims.
desi
August 29, 2012 8:00 am
Who is asking for your personal opinion and who cares about what you say? No government will accept a terrorist as their citizen unless there is clear evidence. There were reports from Pak TV where they were pointing the house of Kasab and his family members. So pak had no option but to accept the reality this time. Somehow you seem to be on a different planet to accept this reality.
Guru
August 29, 2012 7:59 am
Sorry friend but have to cut thro this "We are also suffering" argument. Your suffering is basically from people who were fed, indoctrinated, armed by your state institutions. Now they are turning around & devouring you. You cannot claim martyrdom for this. India is primarily a victim of exported terror. We did not arm any group to harm others & if we did, they have not come to haunt us till now. Like 26/11, most attacks have been traced back to Pakistan and these have to be answered as much for the Indian victims to find an end to their suffering as it is for Pakistan to soul search. Where Indian right went berserk like in Samjauhta, they will rot their entire life in jail. Can you pls tell me what do you intend to do with Hafiz Sayed?
Deendayal Lulla
August 29, 2012 7:54 am
It is a welcome judgement. However,the Indian legal system needs to be overhauled,for expediting the trial of such a dreaded terrorist. Why should legal aid be provided to such a terrorist? The precious time of courts was wasted. Remember,the trial of terrorists caught in Bali bomb blast in Indonesia was completed in four months,and the terrorists were executed.
Guru
August 29, 2012 7:54 am
Indian poor don't have toilets is known. Are the Pakistani poor living in castles? What kind of rhetoric is this - Just because we can't lift our poor to a decent standard of living, we have also forfeited the right to protect ourselves? That is the law of the jungle - finders, keepers. We are some distance away from it in India.
Jeyan(India)
August 29, 2012 7:40 am
@Ali: Grow up buddy...
India
August 29, 2012 7:37 am
seriously?? then you must be thinking pakistan is self inflicting the attacks that happen every other day in pakistan for sheer sympathy and publicity.. how about you kill yourself for sheer sympathy and publicity.. grow up man
Indian
August 29, 2012 7:32 am
Toilets ? do you think you would be planning to construct a toilet in your house when you have neighbours pointing guns at you ? No doubt we are poor and need to improve a lot , ALOT ,we have a weak governing system but a strong constitutional base (and pakistan knows that ) and people are working towards it .Inshallah we'll overcome all these issue in near futurre. by the way i dont think pakistan will ever allow world organisation(who/unicef or watevr) to count number of toilets in the country.
sam
August 29, 2012 7:27 am
you forgot to mention israel and US
Ahmed Sultan (India)
August 29, 2012 7:09 am
If pakistan let us live (i mean your guys dont kill innocent indians on railway stations) then we can concentrate on other things.
Ahmed Sultan (India)
August 29, 2012 7:07 am
@Ali: Your mulla told you this right
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