26/11 The courtroom cast

Fifty four-year-old Abbas Kazmi,who represents Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case,began his practice in 1993,when he defended those accused in the Bombay serial blasts case,including SP leader Abu Azmi and gangster Ejaz Pathan. He has also represented the accused in the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar. Kazmi,a resident of Bandra,graduated in law from K.C. College,Mumbai,in 1980 but went to Jeddah,where he worked for a private company as financial advisor. Soon after he returned,the 1993 serial blasts happened and his office in Mahim was flooded with requests for representation from locals accused in the case.

Always well-dressed,Kazmi’s acting skills are often the target of good-natured jibes from prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and judge M.L. Tahaliyani,who often refer to them when Kazmi takes time to cross examine or uses a different line of cross examination.

Kazmi rates the Mumbai terror attack case as the most important of his legal career. He has two daughters and a son and says he agreed to defend Kasab only after discussing it with his family. “I had discussed the idea with them and they still support me. I just want to tell everyone that I am only answering the call of duty. Kasab needed a lawyer and the court appointed me and being a professional,why shouldn’t I defend him,” he asks.

But last week,Kazmi almost gave up on Kasab,who pleaded guilty in court without consulting his lawyer. Kazmi asked the judge to take him off the case but later changed his mind after Tahaliyani asked Kasab and Kazmi to sort out their differences. “Kasab is of tender age and under tremendous mental pressure. He is highly misguided—earlier by his mentors and now by some guards inside Arthur Road Jail who told him that Pakistan had accepted him as its national and he could return,” says Kazmi.

Kazmi,who is among the few persons who can speak to Kasab in private,says,“Kasab is a kid and can’t analyse most of the things. He has been misguided at all stages of his life.”

But Kazmi remains wary of Kasab’s fickle mindedness. “His sudden admission of guilt shocked and surprised me. He has not only upset my defence line but now I cannot build a strategy until the prosecution completes its evidence as you never know when Kasab will give it a twist,” he says.

Ujjwal Nikam,Special Public Prosecutor

When he enters a courtroom,police officers salute him. “He will win the case for us,” they say. And their trust is not misplaced. With his consistent success in some of the biggest terror cases,Ujjwal Nikam has become one of the most formidable names in Maharashtra’s legal circles.

For a public prosecutor,Nikam holds an enviable record. He’s represented the state in the 1993 serial blasts case in Mumbai and in the murder trial of Pramod Mahajan. He has successfully sought life imprisonment for convicts on 618 occasions and death penalty 33 times. But he admits the 26/11 Mumbai attack is by far his most challenging case.

“It wouldn’t be correct to say that all my previous cases were not important but the Mumbai terror attack case is the most important of them. It is also a great pride for me that I am leading evidence against a man who has dealt severe blows to my country and its citizens,” says 55-year-old Nikam,the son of a lawyer in Jalgaon in Maharashtra.

Among lawyers,Nikam has a reputation of never having missed a court date. But between jostling in court and spending his weekends at his home in Jalgaon,Nikam manages to take time to visit the gym and to attend the many felicitation programmes he’s invited to. Back in the city—he’s almost a permanent resident of Hotel Residency in south Mumbai at the state government’s cost—his day begins early,starting with a jog on Marine Drive. When fellow morning joggers recognise and acknowledge him,he greets them back politely. But once Nikam steps inside the court,he’s a different man. “When I am in my black coat standing across the bar,there is a current flowing in my body. Then I only concentrate on my case. I don’t accept any interference from anybody,” he says.

In court,he’s a solo player,minus a battery of lawyers to support him or even a senior legal assistant. He prepares his strategy to lead the evidence by discussing it with police officers and falls back on his vast experience to build his case. So,what is his strategy for Kasab? “My motive is not only to ensure maximum punishment for Kasab but also to prove before the court the motive and the fact that the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan,thus highlighting the fact that it was no less than a war against the Indian nation. So I will be adducing each and every evidence minutely which will help in nailing Pakistan’s lie,” he says.

He also reacts strongly to Kasab’s lawyer Abbas Kazmi rejecting the evidence presented by the prosecution against Kasab,including post-mortem reports of the 26/11 victims. “Nobody can deny that people have died but by choosing not to accept the post-mortem reports,the defence has delayed the trial. But I will wrap up the evidence at the earliest,” says the man who calls himself everyone’s friend outside the court,but not inside.

M.L. Tahaliyani,Additional Sessions Judge

EVERY day as M.L. Tahaliyani sits in judgment at the high security prison-turned-court at Arthur Road Jail,he has over 50 mediapersons hanging on to every word of his. In a case as high profile as the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack trial,every word of his can be crucial,as crucial as that of Ajmal Kasab,the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai attacks.

In his career spanning over 20 years,Additional Sessions Judge M.L. Tahaliyani has presided over other high profile cases too,like the murder case of music baron Gulshan Kumar. But it is the Kasab case that’s the most discussed.

As judge,Tahaliyani keeps a close watch on Kasab,who is known to have had mood swings ever since the trial began in mid-April. The judge uses a combination of tact and wit to ensure that the decorum of the court is always maintained,even during tense moments like when Kasab got up to admit his guilt.

A Sindhi from Gondia district of Maharashtra,Tahaliyani lives in South Mumbai. He completed his education and law from Nagpur before being appointed as a metropolitan magistrate in 1987 at the Bandra Metropolitan Court. In 1997,he was appointed Assistant Sessions Judge and later as Additional Sessions judge.

A cleanliness freak,Tahaliyani dabbles in gardening and carpentry,besides prescribing common medicines to his staff whenever they complain of minor ailments. After he was named as the judge in the 26/11 case,Tahaliyani would visit Arthur Road Jail almost every day to monitor work on the prison barrack that had to be converted into an air-conditioned trial room. He also gave directions to engineers of the Public Works Department on how he wanted the court to look.

A keen follower of national and international affairs,Tahaliyani makes it a point to read foreign newspapers online at night. Tahaliyani is also conversant in many languages and can even speak a bit of Urdu,Kasab’s tongue. In fact,he makes it a point to speak to Kasab in Urdu. He also takes great pride in being able to speak fluent Marathi.

Lawyers say Tahaliyani is proficient in both criminal and civil laws. This experience has come in handy during tricky moments in the trial—like when a lawyer had to be appointed for Kasab or when Kasab pleased that he was a minor or when he pleaded guilty in court.

Nothing seems to shake his composure as he meticulously plans his schedule and quickly clears his tasks. But that has also earned him the ire of some defence lawyers. Kasab’s lawyer Abbas Kazmi has often complained in court that the judge doesn’t adjourn proceedings even when he seeks time to study his papers. Lawyer Saba Qureshi,representing co-accused Fahim Ansari,even went on to say,“Sir,you are being very harsh”,when Tahaliyani turned down her request for an adjournment.