Kasab's trial deferred till May 2

A specially designated court, housed in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, hearing cases of 26/11 terror attacks accused Ajmal Amir Kasab has adjourned the trial till May 2.

Judge M L Tahilyani on Tuesday ruled out the Kasab’s claim that he was juvenile at the time of perpetrating attacks on Nov 26 last year, and said the medical reports proved that he is above 20 years and should be tried in a normal court, not in a juvenile court.

•   E-mail Article
•   Printer Friendly
•   Text-Size    

The court had to make ruling on the medical reports pertaining to Kasab’s age today, but deferred till May 2.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam said that the testimony of the two medical practioners – S Nandankar of Sir JJ Hospital and Yogita Devkar of Nair Hospita – has proved that Kasab's age could be between 20-25 years at the time of the Mumbai terror attacks.

"This proves our contention that the age (21 years) given by Kasab on three different occasions before different authorities was correct," Nikam pointed out.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Kasab’s lawyer Abbas Kazmi summoned the two medicos as witnesses to give their opinion in the matter of Kasab’s age proved on the basis of dental examination and a bone test.

Kasab, through his lawyer, also made request to the Judge to provide him certain facilities such as an Urdu newspaper, perfumes and toothpaste in the jail. He also asked that he be allowed to stroll in the courtyard of Arthur Road Central Jail where he is imprisoned.

“The jail courtyard is secured from all sides. If he continues to remain in the cell, he will lose mental balance,” Kasab’s lawyer Kazmi told the Judge.

The judge gave assurance to Kasab that he would consider his request later. He would forward his request to the jail superintendent and whatever is practicable under the jail terms would be provided.