The Bombay High Court Monday set Feb 21 as the date when it will pronounce its verdict on the death sentence awarded to Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
The court announced that it will give its verdict Feb 21 confirming or commuting the death penalty of Kasab awarded by a lower court last year, said Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
The high court will also the same day decide on Kasab’s appeal against the award of death sentence to him by the lower court, his lawyer Farhana Shah said.
The matter came up before the Bombay High Court Monday for further directions in the case, the hearings on which were concluded three weeks ago.
In the final stages of the hearing in the high court, Kasab boycotted the proceedings after the judges rejected his request to be brought physically to the court.
In view of the security considerations in transferring him to and from the court, Kasab was made to appear before the court through a video-conference link set up in the high-security Arthur Road Central Jail.
At one of the initial hearings, Kasab displayed violent tendencies and attempted to spit at the video-camera. Refusing to accept the death sentence, Kasab also demanded that he should be sent to the US.
On Nov 26, 2008, Kasab and nine other Pakistani terrorists sneaked into south Mumbai through the Arabian Sea route and targeted various locations, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway terminus, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, Hotel Trident-Oberoi, and Nariman House which housed the Jewish Chabad House.
The 60-hour mayhem left 166 people dead, including many foreign nationals, and over 300 injured