Now terrorist Ajmal Kasab wants leniency because of his age

New Delhi, Feb 15: With the sole terrorist captured in the deadly Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, Ajmal Kasab in a legal tangle, the Supreme Court will today hear his plea regarding the commute of his death sentence on the terror attack case. He wants his death sentence to be converted to life imprisonment. He appealed for leniency citing his age.

With senior advocate and amicus curie Raju Ramachandran fighting the case on behalf of Kasab, he argued in court and said that Kasab was not part of the larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation. The argument was presented before the a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam. The Maharashtra govt is slated to oppose the plea.

Ramachandran stated in court that Kasab's age was an important factor in commuting the sentence and pleaded for a more lenient approach since he was drawn to skewed religious faith and false ideology owing to his immature age.

He added, "The choice before the Supreme Court is life (imprisonment) and irreversible death penalty. It would not be prudent to affirm the extreme penalty. Even if I am guilty under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and other provisions, it cannot be said that I was a part of the larger conspiracy of waging war."

Ramachandran maintained that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against him beyond doubts and that his right against self-incrimination and his right to adequately being represented by a counsel was violated during the course of the trial.

The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the death sentence of Kasab on Oct 10, 2011. In his special leave petition challenging the Bombay High Court judgement, he claimed he was brainwashed like a "robot" into committing the heinous crime in the name of "God" and that he does not deserve capital punishment owing to his young age.

OneIndia News