'Cloud over Kasab's confession'

The defence in 26/11 attacks case on Friday told the Bombay High Court that convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab’s confessional statement cannot be accepted as true and that he gave voluntarily.

The defence in 26/11 attacks case on Friday told the Bombay High Court that convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab’s confessional statement cannot be accepted as true and that he gave voluntarily.

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Advocate Amin Solkar, appointed to defend the 23-year-old Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, argued that the magistrate had not followed mandatory provisions while recording Kasab's confessional statement. Solkar said the magistrate, who recorded Kasab's confession, has not recorded her subjective satisfaction that the Pakistani wanted to confess voluntarily. "Neither the subjective satisfaction is disclosed from the concerned material," he added.

According to the defence lawyer, a court cannot rely on a statement of a person who openly stated that he had no remorse. "An accused voluntarily comes forward to record his confession when he repents that whatever he has committed was wrong," Solkar said. He added that Kasab's confessional statement could not be relied on as he himself has stated in it that he wanted to give a message. He also submitted that some wrong statements were incorporated in the confession which created suspicion about its credibility.