There has been a debate about whether Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist captured in Mumbai, deserves the right to defend himself in a court of law. Questions have been raised about the ethics of lawyers who are willing to offer their services to Kasab. It is a fact that the whole world saw the pictures of Kasab committing heinous crimes against humanity. I don’t think there is any point spending millions of rupees on prosecuting this terrorist. It would be a criminal wastage of time and energy of all those who are involved in the criminal prosecution process.
But, India is a democracy and we do have certain obligations to ourselves when it comes to human rights. We cannot afford to lay down a wrong precedence by not allowing Kasab the opportunity to defend himself, though I certainly cannot imagine what any lawyer can do or say to defend such a convict. The problem is that the country’s system is so slow and tedious when it comes to convicting the hard core criminals. We certainly would hate to see Kasab being let loose after another Kandahar like situation.And the legal aid must not come from any political parties, NGOs or other institutions. It is a technical legal process and must remain so.
Anyway, I think we should let Kasab defend himself and keep our fingers crossed. This could be the ultimate trial for the country’s judicial system.
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