Attacker will get right to defend himself

Right to life, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India, may not have crossed the minds of the terrorists who invaded Mumbai and left a trail of death and destruction. They did not give anyone a chance to defend, when they attacked.

But now, the lone terrorist captured alive, 21-year-old Mohammed Ajmal Ameer Kasab, will at least know what fundamental rights mean. Because legal experts say that though he may be a foreign national, he will have the fundamental rights under the Constitution to defend himself and he will have the right to appeal, besides many other privileges that Indian citizens — whom Kasab was trained to kill— enjoy.

Kasab, a fourth standard dropout who came from Karachi and killed three high-ranking police officers after killing many others at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, is presently in custody of the Mumbai crime branch.

He has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 121 (waging war against the nation) as well as sections of the Explosives Act and Arms Act.

The Constitution also lays down that all arrested in Indian territory be treated equally. Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian said: “Any person who is arrested in the territorial jurisdiction of India, be it air, water or land, comes under the purview of the Indian Constitution.”

Kasab, who is in police custody till December 3, can get a lawyer to defend him in court. He can seek medical help if required and will have to be treated at a government hospital. If Kasab requires medication in a private institution, it will have to be at the expense of the state government.

Also, if Kasab is transferred to judicial custody, while the state Government may keep him in a high security area, it cannot make him work until he is convicted, since undertrials in India are not expected to work, as per law.

Former Deputy Inspector General (Special Task Force) CBI, O P Chatwal, who probed the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, said: “There should be a summary trial against Kasab. The judiciary should be sensitised to dispose of the cases at the earliest. If the case is caught in legal wrangles, the public will lose confidence in the police.”

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