Waghmare debarred from defending Kasab

Anjali Waghmare debarred from defending the lone surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks, Ajmal Aamir Kasab, on the ground of conflicts of interest Wednesday.

Judge M Tahilyani sacking Waghmare said that she was not eligible to defend Kasab as the Bombay High Court legal aid cell had already appointed her to appear for a victim in the same case allegedly injured by Kasab and his companions at Cama Hospital on Nov 26.

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Her associate K P Pawar, who was appointed along with Waghmare, will now handle the case till the court appoints another lawyer, Tahilyani said.

Tahilyani told Waghmare she should have disclosed to the court that she had already been appointed by the legal aid cell to appear for the witness in this case.

“Obviously, the interest of witness and accused will clash with each other. The order passed by the court is vitiated to some extent for non-disclosure of facts and there is no option but to revoke it immediately,” the court noted.

The hearing was taking place at a specially constructed court housed at well-protected Arthur Road jail where Kasab is being held in a separate cell.

This will further delay the hearing. The trial has already been delayed first because of no lawyer was being ready to defend Kasab owing to widespread protest and for the act that Kasab and his companions committed (killed over 180 people and injured more than 300), and later the construction of the court took some additional time. The trial was to begin from April 6 but delayed, as the construction was incomplete.