Surprising all those present in court during the 26/11 trial, special sessions judge M L Tahaliyani tilted a service pistol towards lone arrested terrorist Ajmal Kasab on Monday. The judge was examining the unloaded gun to see how it had jammed.

The incident happened during the deposition of assistant police inspector Vijay Shinde, who had dropped his loaded service pistol at Cama hospital after he was struck by shrapnel from a hand grenade thrown by Kasab and his deceased partner. Shinde also said his pistol had jammed and he couldn’t retaliate.

Judge Tahaliyani then took the pistol and tried to load it. Shinde then said, “It does not have a magazine and will not fire.” Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam then warned the judge, “A bullet could be stuck inside the chamber of an empty pistol and might fire accidentally”.

Tahaliyani then smiled and said, “Don’t worry I am pointing it to my left”. The dock where Kasab sits is located on the left side of the court. Tahaliyani added, “I have seen pistols during several trials and have always tried them in open court, so I thought I will try this one also”. He then quickly qualified his statement, “I was pointing it towards lawyer Abbas Kazmi who defends Kasab”.