why did the issue of terrorist kasab trial suddenly arise in the supreme court

The Supreme Court, hearing an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said that even 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial. The Jammu court order, which had asked Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to appear in person, was challenged in the Supreme Court. Yasin Malik is the main accused in the killing of four Indian Air Force personnel near Srinagar in 1990 and the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in 1989. The court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to explore the possibility of holding the proceedings inside Tihar jail, where Yasin Malik is currently lodged.

Mehta replied that he would seek instructions on this matter. He insisted that Malik could not be taken to Jammu for hearing, citing concerns over the safety of witnesses. The Solicitor General informed the bench that Malik had insisted on appearing in person and had refused to appoint a lawyer. Mehta also presented a picture of Malik sharing the stage with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and argued that Malik was not an ordinary accused.

The bench expressed concern over conducting the cross-examination online and asked how will the cross-examination be conducted online? Connectivity in Jammu is hardly reliable. The court remarked that in our country, even Ajmal Kasab got a fair trial and asked the Solicitor General to provide details about the number of witnesses in the trial. Yasin Malik is serving life imprisonment in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in the terror funding case. A court handling Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act cases in 2022 directed Malik to appear in person.