New Delhi:
The man in charge of defending Ajmal Kasab has been sacked by a Mumbai court as punishment for attempts to delay the trial.
The judge, ML Tahaliyani, said, "It appears that Advocate Kazmi has developed a feeling that he has become indispensable and that without him, the court cannot work... and the trial cannot be completed without his contribution. In my view this feeling, is necessary to be erased immediately and there is no point in continuing Mr Kazmi to defend accused number 1."
To make sure there are no delays caused by Abbas Kazmi's exit, the court has promoted KP Pawar, who has been assisting Kazmi in defending Ajaml Kasab, to the main defence lawyer. Both Pawar and Kazmi were appointed by the special court judge to defend Kasab.
Last week, Kazmi ran into trouble with the judge but was allowed to stay on as Kasab's lawyer after he apologized for his behaviour. Kazmi has been insisting that he wants to cross-examine all 341 "formal witnesses" in the case. These include doctors who handled injuries and post-mortems of the victims of 26/11. The judge suggested Kazmi shortlist some of these witnesses for cross-examination but Kazmi rejected the suggestion.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam says that the Court had asked Kazmi if he'd like to quit. "When Kazmi refused to withdraw and did not cooperate, the court was constrained to cancel his appointment ," he says.