Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab does not understand the gravity of the Mumbai terror attacks case or the charges against him, senior criminal lawyer Abbas Kazmi said after being appointed to defend him on Thursday.
Kazmi was permitted to meet his new client, Kasab, at the Arthur Road Central Jail premises after the days' proceedings were completed in the Special Court set up there.
"It is clear from the way he was laughing and giggling in the Special Court on Wednesday and Thursday that Kasab has no inkling of the seriousness of the case against him," Kazmi said.
He said he tried to impress upon Kasab that he could face a life term or a death sentence, but "he does not seem to realise it".
Kazmi said he was provided police security after he came out of the Special Court. For the 54-year-old Kazmi, a graduate of the KC Law College, Mumbai, this will be his first ever Pakistani client, though he has earlier defended a British national in Goa.
He had also appeared on behalf of over two dozen accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb explosions case, and some of the accused in the murder case of music baron Gulshan Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}He had also appeared on behalf of over two dozen accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb explosions case, and some of the accused in the murder case of music baron Gulshan Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}A well-known criminal lawyer in Mumbai, Kazmi was appointed by the Special Court to defend Kasab. He has replaced Anjali Waghmare whose appointment was revoked by Special Judge ML Tahilyani on Wednesday on grounds of "professional misconduct".