ID :
92407
Mon, 11/30/2009 - 22:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/92407
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26/11 trial: Kasab's lawyer sacked
Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) The special 26/11 trial court
on Monday sacked Abbas Kazmi, the defence counsel for
Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab for "non-cooperation", three days
after it showed leniency and allowed him to continue accepting
an unconditional apology for his controversial utterances.
Judge M L Tahaliyani ordered Kazmi's termination
after he refused to consider the court's suggestion to pick
out 71 formal witnesses out of the total 340, including the
doctors who treated the victims, conducted postmortem, those
who drew inquest panchnama, carried forensic evidences to labs
and victims' family members who claimed the bodies.
The court asked Kazmi to consider how many witnesses he
would like to cross-examine from the first category of 71
witnesses, but he insisted on examining all 340, rejecting the
court's suggestion.
"Kazmi is not cooperating with the court in the
interest of justice. He is trying to drag the trial and is
unnecessarily consuming the time of the court," the judge
observed.
"It appears that Kazmi has developed a feeling that he
has become indispensable and without him the trial cannot go
on. He has developed a feeling that the court is helpless
without him," the judge said angrily, adding "this gives out a
wrong signal to everyone and it is high time that either Kazmi
withdraws from the case himself or the court terminates his
appointment."
The court is likely to consider the appointment of one
more advocate in the place of Kazmi.
Judge M L Tahaliyani also directed Kazmi to hand over
all the documents and chargesheet of the case to advocate K P
Pawar, who is assisting him in the case.
On November 27, Tahaliyani had decided against sacking
Kazmi after he tendered apology for his remark during angry
courtroom exchanges the day before that he did not care about
affidavits of witnesses filed by the prosecution.
Kazmi was appointed as Kasab's Defence lawyer by the
court for the trial which began in March this year.
The judge had also withdrawn his observation that
Kazmi was a liar. The observation had come the previous day
after Kazmi denied that special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
had stated in his opening address on May 8 that he would file
affidavits of formal witnesses.
A controversy had erupted on November 26, the first
anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, when prosecutor
Nikam informed the Judge that he desired to file 340
affidavits of formal witnesses and that copies of 233 such
documents had already been served on the defence lawyer. Nikam
said he did not to personally call the witnesses to save
the court's time.
When the judge asked Kazmi whether he wanted to cross
examine any of these witnesses, Kazmi said that he would
declare his strategy after Nikam filed these affidavits in the
court. PTI SP
SKT
on Monday sacked Abbas Kazmi, the defence counsel for
Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab for "non-cooperation", three days
after it showed leniency and allowed him to continue accepting
an unconditional apology for his controversial utterances.
Judge M L Tahaliyani ordered Kazmi's termination
after he refused to consider the court's suggestion to pick
out 71 formal witnesses out of the total 340, including the
doctors who treated the victims, conducted postmortem, those
who drew inquest panchnama, carried forensic evidences to labs
and victims' family members who claimed the bodies.
The court asked Kazmi to consider how many witnesses he
would like to cross-examine from the first category of 71
witnesses, but he insisted on examining all 340, rejecting the
court's suggestion.
"Kazmi is not cooperating with the court in the
interest of justice. He is trying to drag the trial and is
unnecessarily consuming the time of the court," the judge
observed.
"It appears that Kazmi has developed a feeling that he
has become indispensable and without him the trial cannot go
on. He has developed a feeling that the court is helpless
without him," the judge said angrily, adding "this gives out a
wrong signal to everyone and it is high time that either Kazmi
withdraws from the case himself or the court terminates his
appointment."
The court is likely to consider the appointment of one
more advocate in the place of Kazmi.
Judge M L Tahaliyani also directed Kazmi to hand over
all the documents and chargesheet of the case to advocate K P
Pawar, who is assisting him in the case.
On November 27, Tahaliyani had decided against sacking
Kazmi after he tendered apology for his remark during angry
courtroom exchanges the day before that he did not care about
affidavits of witnesses filed by the prosecution.
Kazmi was appointed as Kasab's Defence lawyer by the
court for the trial which began in March this year.
The judge had also withdrawn his observation that
Kazmi was a liar. The observation had come the previous day
after Kazmi denied that special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
had stated in his opening address on May 8 that he would file
affidavits of formal witnesses.
A controversy had erupted on November 26, the first
anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, when prosecutor
Nikam informed the Judge that he desired to file 340
affidavits of formal witnesses and that copies of 233 such
documents had already been served on the defence lawyer. Nikam
said he did not to personally call the witnesses to save
the court's time.
When the judge asked Kazmi whether he wanted to cross
examine any of these witnesses, Kazmi said that he would
declare his strategy after Nikam filed these affidavits in the
court. PTI SP
SKT
