Kasab given fair trial, Maharashtra govt to SC

The Maharashtra government today refuted the allegation of the sole convict in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, that he was not given fair trial and said death sentence awarded to him was a permissible means of punishment.

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the state government, contended that Kasab was never tortured or maltreated and there has been no violation of his constitutional rights.

"At no point of time he was tortured or maltreated by the authorities and there has been no failure of constitutional rights given to him," he submitted before a bench comprising justices Aftam Alam and CK Prasad.

Subramaniam also submitted that death sentence, which has been awarded to Kasab, is a permissible means of punishment.

Referring to the entire sequence of events leading to the 26/11 attack, which was planned by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in Pakistan, he submitted that had Kasab not been caught alive, then it would not have been possible to know that outsiders were involved in the mayhem.