Qassab verdict: 10 most important things to understand about the judgment
The victims' relatives' feelings are
understandable, but Hemant Karkare's wife Kavita also said that Qassab should be
hanged in public. How can you condemn the savagery of Kasab and his nine
associates by recommending medieval practice of hanging of Qassab in public? By
giving fair trial to Kasab, India is arguing that it is not a banana republic.
Slain police officer Tukaram Omble's relative said on television that Qassab's
limbs should be cut into pieces in public and then salt should be applied on.
This view is just not Indian….
"Pakistan should get the
message clear unlike the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts that divided the Indian
society; the 2008 terror attack has united India. Hopefully, the times are
changing. Hindus and Muslims -- urban
and rural India, rich and poor and middle class -- all felt strongly for those
166 families whose relatives were killed by the attack by 10 Pakistani
terrorists. Irrespective of the legal weaknesses or strengths of Judge Madan
Tahilyani's verdict, generally, Indians would be happy that the trial took place
with a speed that is not common in India and he has delivered a sound judgment.
-- Sheela
Bhatt
By Sheela Bhatt
First, as Home Minister P Chidambaram said after
the court judgment that this is a message to Pakistan: Don't export terror.
After the Mumbai attack, even many liberal Indians, also, felt that Pakistan
must act against terror aimed at India. By completing trial in more or less fair
manner, India has showed its resolve to fight back legally and ethically any
Pakistan-based terrorists and their supporters' evil designs.
Second, the 26/11 attack has not divided India.
And, that's an achievement. As Rehana Bastiwala, a Mumbai-based reporter, said,
"Pakistan should get the message clear unlike the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts that
divided the Indian society; the 2008 terror attack has united India. Hopefully,
the times are changing. Hindus and
Muslims -- urban and rural India, rich and poor and middle class -- all felt
strongly for those 166 families whose relatives were killed by the attack by 10
Pakistani terrorists. Irrespective of the legal weaknesses or strengths of Judge
Madan Tahilyani's verdict, generally, Indians would be happy that the trial took
place with a speed that is not common in India and he has delivered a sound
judgment. Despite the police having inherent limitation of investigation because
the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and there was no access to some 35
accused who masterminded/planned/executed the dreaded plot, they connected the
dots on the basis of Qassab's interrogation.
Third, the international community, particularly
the Islamic world, will see the contrast between India and Pakistan. In their
journey to realise their dreams after 1947 both these countries have drifted
apart and how! Qassab is the symbol of frustrations of elements in Pakistan that
has captured and monopolized political, religious and social power structures of
that country. The powerless class of Pakistan deserves justice as much as the
Indian victims of Pakistani terrorists. Kasab, a foot-soldier, was sent by
religious fundamentalists who have been misusing a potent weapon of ultra
nationalist and fanatic religious emotions. India's endeavor, although not yet
fulfilled, is to remain pluralist and centrist. That has, thankfully, not yet
created a Qassab. It's dreadful to think of any Indian's trial on similar
charges in Islamabad. (Espionage is altogether a different story and category)
There can't be bigger humiliation than this for any country whose history of
culture and religion is all about fusion of various cultures.
Fourth,
Judge Tahilyani has
for some reason not taken into account American terror suspect David Headley's
emergence in the Mumbai attack case. His 1,500-page verdict hasmissed
out the entire Headley saga. Ujjwal Nikam, the public prosecutor, told reporters
that, so far, the instruction to include Headley did not come from the Centre.
This makes the entire case incomplete because the investigation into Headley is
not produced in the court at all by the Mumbai police, which had fresh material
Judge Tahilyani has for some reason not taken into account American terror suspect David Headley's emergence in the
Mumbai attack case. His 1,500-page verdict has on
hand.
Fifth, after the 26/11 attack, a small, but vocal
section of Indian society, particularly, in Mumbai, is dominating television
news debates, seeking reprehensible and extremely violent views on Qassab. Even
Chidambaram said in his statement on the judgment that, "Despite criticism from
certain quarters (swayed by emotion and anger), we maintained that Qassab and
the other accused ought to be tried in accordance with law and that they should
have all the rights that are available to an accused under Indian
law."
The victims' relatives' feelings are
understandable, but Hemant Karkare's wife Kavita also said that Kasab should be
hanged in public. How can you condemn the savagery of Qassab and his nine
associates by recommending medieval practice of hanging of Qassab in public? By
giving fair trial to Qassab, India is arguing that it is not a Banana Republic.
Slain police officer Tukaram Omble's relative said on television that Kasab's
limbs should be cut into pieces in public and then salt should be applied on.
This view is just not Indian.
Sixth, the biggest point in favour of Qassab's
trial is that it was open. The media had access. But, Kasab was not represented
by a high-profile or a senior counsel. Also, most reporters noticed that inside
the court room, throughout the year, when the trial was on, a kind of haste was
shown. This has led to sacking of Qassab's lawyer Abbas Qazmi, who was accused
of non-co-operation. Even, ace lawyer Fali Nariman has written about the removal
of Qazmi by Tahilyani.
Nariman wrote in a Mumbai tabloid, "Mere
non-co-operation is no ground for removing the lawyer when the accused has his
confidence in him, and this may perhaps vitiate the final verdict in the
case. However, whether it will vitiate
the entire trial, there is no answer except to say that 'it all depends' -- on
the facts of the case, one would have to see why it was done, when it was done,
and what the problem was. Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the dismissal of
such an advocate would be an 'irregularity' and not an 'illegality'. But somehow
with my limited knowledge of the case, the Advocate's dismissal does not appeal
to my sense of justice."
Seventh, it's nothing, but shocking the manner
Tahilyani has rejected the entire investigation against Fahim and Sabahuddin of
the Mumbai police team, headed by Rakesh Maria. The judge has demolished all
arguments so bluntly that public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam was seen fuming before
the media. The acquittal is a scary reminder that the Mumbai police could still
produce such "quick-fix" results, even, in the case of national and
international importance. It is not known yet if it was done with malafide
intention or not. The judge simply refused to believe that the map found in the
pocket of Abu Ismail was a genuine. In other words, it meant the police
manufactured the map and lied that they found it in Ismail's pocket to fix Fahim
and Sabahuddin in the case. Instead of finding local involvement, if any, in a
professional manner without coming under political pressures, the acquittal of
two key accused is a slap on Mumbai police's face. Actually, it is
eerie.
Eighth, India has limited reasons to rejoice that
Tahilyani has declared Kasab guilty. Because, his mentors and devious minds in
Pakistani establishment, who have probably worked behind the scene in
facilitating the Mumbai attack, are not going to be affected by the Indian
trial. They care damn for it. The judge has relied heavily on Qassab's statement
that was retracted by him, later. Beyond his statement, not much has been found
by investigation agencies to fix Qassab's mentors in Pakistan. The verdict has
pronounced many Pakistan-based accused guilty on basis of circumstantial
evidence in form of Kasab's statement. The evidences against Qassab are many and
beyond doubt but his handlers are convicted on basis of retracted
statement.
Nariman has said,"However, I would not like to
see the death penalty administered solely on the basis of a retracted
confession: howsoever flimsy the retraction." He quoted former eminent lawyer
and former President R Venkataraman that, "confessions' whether before the
police or before a magistrate drained the Indian Criminal Law of its force and
vitality". India was lucky to get Kasab alive. But, beyond getting his
confession and fixing his culpability convincingly, the Mumbai police has not
been lucky to get any fresh insight. Their argument was that conspiracy was
hatched in Pakistan so they had limitations. But, then , how does one understand
the "fixing' of Fahim and Sabahuddin in the most important terror case of
India?
Ninth, it is ironic that when the Qassab's
judgment has arrived, the headlines were shared by news of arrest of Devendra
Gupta and Chandrashekhar, who are indirectly connected to Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh in the Ajmer, Malegaon and Hyderabad balsts cases. Though the RSS has
strongly denied any links, but the police of three states and CBI are probing
the Hindutva outfits of small towns. This is no small news.
Lastly, the Kasab's verdict shows that how
important is Headley for India, who was directly linked to Lashkar-e Taiba and
Mumbai attacks. The judgment in Mumbai lacks better evidence against Qassab's
mentors because India doesn't have desired access and information of Headley.
India is at the dead-end in getting more than circumstantial evidence against
anti-India forces who planned the Mumbai attack. America needs to play a fair
game with India and be sincere in supporting global war on
terrorism.
Source: rediff.com
10:41 PM
Sultan Shahin
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