07 February,2011 08:17 AM IST | | Team MiD DAY
Fake stamp paper scam accused Abdul Karim Telgi's counsel Advocate Milind Pawar shares his memories of case that stunned nation, says he plans to write a book on it
In this week's Hot Seat, MiD DAY called the President of Pune Bar Association and famous Criminal Lawyer Milind Pawar to discuss several issues of pending cases, security of court premises and the bar's opposition to appointment of Special Public Prosecutor and Defense counsel of blast accused. MiD Day also grilled the noted lawyer on his upcoming book and his client Abdul Karim Telgi.
Why did the Bar oppose the counsel of German Bakery blast accused Himayat Baig?
We had only appealed to bar members to not appear on behalf of the accused as the case was in the investigation stage. We were not directly opposed to Advocate A Rehman, a senior member of the bar association.
You also opposed the appointment of Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare...
We only demanded the appointment of a local lawyer. I have also filed an application under Right to Information act two weeks ago asking the criteria for appointing a Mumbai-based lawyer as the SPP. We have still not received a reply.
Don't you think such decisions will delay trials of important cases?
Our constitution has given right to every accused to be represented by a lawyer. We have never opposed or obstructed any lawyer. In the case of RDX haul accused Bilal in Nashik, the District Court there provided a lawyer from the bar association to represent the accused. In Nayana Pujari case, the counsel of the accused has filed the application of discharge, as he wants to delay the trial.
What are the reasons behind pendency of cases?
Second to Mumbai, Pune has about 2.5 lakh cases in the state. In some cases, the clients are interested in delaying the trial. Another issue is the vacant posts of judges. In Pune district court, 12 such posts are lying vacant since the past six months.
Allegations are being made about forced compromises in Lokadalat...
Lokadalat is the best option available the public. Allegations of forcible compromises are false. No formal complaint has been registered about such compromises being forced upon a client, which proves that all these are rumours.
What steps are being taken to secure the court premises?
The construction of compound wall has started which will be completed in less than two months. Earlier not a single policeman was there for security, but today about 135 policemen are deployed in the court premises. We are satisfied with the security measures.
How has the video conference system collapse affected the case hearings?
Most cases that require identification of the accused, video conferencing (VC) helps a lot to save time. For speedy disposal of cases, all the 80 criminal court halls in Pune should have the facility of VC. But since the phone line bills are not paid for the last one year, the VC facility is non-functional.
According to you, which case had a historic judgment?
The fake stamp paper scam case, in which I was representing Abdul Karim Telgi, the accused number 23 of the case. Bund Garden police cracked the scam on June 7, 2004 and in subsequent investigations, 67 accused were arrested including an ex-Commissioner of Police Ranjeet Sharma and also three Members of Legislative Assembly.
How is Telgi as a client?
He is very sharp and clever. He does face-reading of police officers and others and can identify people whom he can trust.
Are you writing any article on Telgi and your experiences while dealing with the case?
I have started writing a book on Telgi, his stay in the 'Anda Cell' inside the jail. Since I was his lawyer, I had the privilege to meet him twice a week. I cannot reveal the content of the book right now, but it would be exclusive and explosive. Telgi had also started writing a book and had completed almost 3.000 pages, which he had handed to me. I will include those details also in my book. I have started writing it six months ago and will take about two more years to finish it.
Did you ever get threat calls? Did politicians try to influence the case?
There were couple of attempts made to influence the case. Some persons wanted Telgi to refrain from giving a confessional statement. Telgi was also frustrated by all this.
