17 April,2009 02:47 PM IST | | Correspondent
In an appeal that caused a stir at day three of the proceedings in the trial of Ajmal Amir Qasab, his lawyer Abbas Kazmi said that Qasab was a minor at the time of the incident and hence should be tried in the juvenile court.
At Arthur Road jail on Friday morning, Kazmi put forth an application in front of special prosecution judge ML Tahiliyani that his client had told him that he had not crossed the age of 17 at the time of the November 26 attacks.
His application was however disposed of by the judge who stated that the application was simply 'to delay the court proceeding and in the absence of relevant documents, could not be taken into consideration.'
On presentation of the application, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam argued that Qasab had twice stated that his date of birth was on September 13, 1987 thus making him an adult at the time of the incident. The first time was during his confession to the police and the second was when his records were made at Arthur Road jail, where he is currently held.
