Qasab's lawyer removed from the case

Anjali Waghmare, the lawyer assigned to the prime accused in the Mumbai terror strike Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, was on Wednesday removed on grounds of conflict of interest by the Special Court hearing the case.

Anjali Waghmare, the lawyer assigned to the prime accused in the Mumbai terror strike Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, was on Wednesday removed on grounds of "conflict of interest" by the Special Court hearing the case.

Who is Shrivardhankar?

The 57-year-old employee with the state government's Food and Civil Supplies Department was one of the victims of Qasab and Ismail on the night of November 26 at Cama Hospital.

Shrivardhankar, a resident of Kalyan had left for home that night at about 9 pm and was on his way to CST station when rumours of firing at the station reached him and he chose to seek refuge at Cama Hospital.

To his misfortune, Shrivardhankar had sought refuge on the very floor where the terrorists were hiding. Having come into contact with Ismail and Qasab, Shrivardhankar was shot at twice and his throat was slit by the terrorists.

Fortunately, Shrivardhankar survived and rose to prominence as it was his consultation with advocate Anjali Waghmare that led to her removal from the case as representation for Qasab.

Shrivardhankar had sought Waghmare's counsel with regards to the compensation he had received from the state government for his injuries.u00a0

Special Judge M L Tahilyani said it was "highly inappropriate" behaviour on her part to keep the Special Court in the dark. It was a reference to Waghmare agreeing to represent a witness who has been listed to depose in the matter.
Though Waghmare had earlier denied that she was planning to represent a witness, a Mumbai lawyer had last week filed a complaint before the Special Court pointing to a conflict of professional interests since Waghmare would be representing both the accused and a witness.

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Her fate was sealed when Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam submitted a sealed cover, purported to contain a copy of her 'vakalatnama' agreeing to represent a witness, Harishchandra Shrivardhankar, in the case.

Waghmare is a government lawyer appointed by the Special Court from the Legal Aid Committee to represent Qasab, the only terrorist to be captured alive in the Mumbai terror carnage, as he had no lawyer nor could afford one.

The wife of a Mumbai Police official, Waghmare's appointment led to controversy with the Shiv Sena demonstrating outside her home in Worli. Later, with the intervention of top police and political officials and assurance of high security, she agreed to fight the case.

She could not be contacted as her mobile phone was switched off.

The trial in the case started on Wednesday under a blanket of security with hundreds of media personnel looking on. Qasab was scheduled to appear in the court, at the Arthur Road Jail complex where Qasab and the other two accused are kept behind bars.