Maharashtra government has decided to continue with Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor in 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab's case which would soon come up before the Bombay high court for confirmation of the Pakistani national's death sentence.
The Maharashtra government has appointed special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to represent it during the trial of 13/7 Mumbai triple blasts that claimed 27 lives and left several others wounded.
Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam says that while justice has been delivered to some victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, their conspirators are still hiding in Pakistan. He criticizes Pakistan's handling of the trials of those arrested and calls for action against masterminds like Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is among four persons nominated to Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to inform and spoke in Marathi.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
Besides Bhujbal, who is currently the food and civil supplies minister, his son Pankaj, nephew Sameer, former MP Sanjay Kakade, were among the 46 individuals and entities who were cleared from the case by the court.
Ashutosh Gowariker is all set to direct Kantara actor Rishab Shetty in a Hindi-Kannada bi-lingual based on a historical figure.
Nikam has replaced two-time MP Poonam Mahajan, who is the daughter of the late BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan.
On Monday, special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam said that he would be recommending the state to initiate appeal against the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed before the Supreme Court.
Investigating agencies have gathered enough evidence to show that Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive in the Mumbai terror attack, was part of a criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has said. Nikam, appointed a special public prosecutor to handle the 26/11 case, said the chargesheet would be filed in a special court in the next couple of days.
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
A special court will hear arguments on Tuesday on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who has been held guilty for the murder of 170 people in the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of the country.
Describing Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed as "co-conspirators" in the 26/11 attacks, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that the trial court had erred in acquitting the duo by giving them the benefit of doubt.
Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case Ujjwal Nikam on Thursday expressed happiness over awarding of death sentence to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for the carnage, saying the verdict has delivered justice to the families of the victims.
Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 trial Ujwal Nikam was visibly upset over a report published in a Mumbai daily.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil asked the government to make the statement on Tuesday after the high-profile Special Public Prosecutor's alleged remark kicked up dust in the assembly.
Special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam remains calm just a day before the special court trying 26/11 accused Ajmal Kasab, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh will deliver his judgment.
Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor in 1993 serial blasts case, on Thursday said the Supreme Court upholding death penalty to Yakub Memon will send a strong message to the absconding accused in Pakistan that they will also be brought to book.
Describing it as "frivolous", the Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected a defence lawyer's petition seeking removal of Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the 26/11 attacks case.
David Coleman Headley, who pleaded guilty before a United States court on Thursday night, cannot be impleaded in the 26/11 trial going on in Mumbai as it is nearing completion, but he can be put on trial in Pakistan, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Friday. However, he said, Pakistani-American Headley's admission of guilt before a US court has strengthened the Mumbai terror attacks case, which is being heard in a special court.
The retraction of confession by Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist arrested during the terror strike in Mumbai last year, will not have any effect on the ongoing trial in the case, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told mediapersons on Friday.Nikam made the comments in the wake of Kasab -- who deposed for the first time today -- claiming that he was arrested by the Mumbai police days before the 26/11 terror strike and his confessions had been taken by force.
The Maharashtra government on Monday decided to appeal against the Bombay high court's decision to acquit Sabahuddin and Fahim Ansari, who, according to the police, were the men who conducted a survey for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks
With the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, Pakistan should now expedite the trial in their court, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday said.
The prosecution in the 26/11 terror attacks case on Thursday sought imposition of a compensation on Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab for causing huge damage to property to the tune of Rs 155.73 crore during the attacks. But the court refused to consider the plea raising a query as to who would pay it.
The 26/11 terror trial is not only against Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who was caught alive, but also against the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which masterminded the Mumbai attacks, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said here on Wednesday.
Special public prosecutor in the 26/11-terror attacks case, Ujjwal Nikam, on Friday demanded that the Pakistani court should conduct an open trial in the case, slated to begin there on Saturday.
A 26/11 prosecution witness is not traceable for last three months and all efforts to find him have gone in vain, a special court trying Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and two others was informed on Tuesday.
This is how Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam responded to the confirmation of death sentence to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by the Bombay high court.
Also, there are many other important aspects of evidence, which the prosecution has to adduce to expose terrorist infrastructure of perpetrators of the crime, he said, adding they will not let Kasab succeed in his 'motive' of escaping with lesser punishment.
The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it would not appoint a new special public prosecutor in the Khwaja Yunus custodial death case till October 14.
The verdict of a United States court holding Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana not guilty of the Mumbai terror attacks would not affect the legal proceedings against terrorist Ajmal Kasab and the charge against Lashkar-e-Tayiba of masterminded the strikes, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Friday.
'We know the reason behind it. We also know who is behind the curtain (in prompting Kasab to withdraw his confessional statement), says Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
'Kasab was never given mutton biryani.' 'What I had said was Kasab had asked for mutton biryani to be served in jail.'
The Bombay high court on Tuesday sought to know if a complainant in a case can ask for a particular advocate to be appointed as a special public prosecutor in the case.
'Why is the Congress not tendering an unconditional apology to the citizens of India?'
In the post on X, Mahajan said, "I will be indebted to the family-like people from Mumbai North Central who treated me not just as an MP but gave me affection like a daughter."
Dutt, convicted for illegal possession of an assault rifle and pistol, has applied under the Probation of Offenders Act seeking exemption from a prison term.
The drama at the special court in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, which is the venue for the trial of the Mumbai terror attacks case, continued on Thursday. A day after Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege on Mumbai last year, urged the special court to punish him by hanging, his lawyer Abbas Kazmi told the court that he wanted to withdraw from the case.However, Kazmi later changed his mind and agreed to continue with the case.
"We have made remarkable progress since the trial began on April 15," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI. About 35 witnesses, including ballistic experts and legal experts and chemical analysts are expected to depose before the court this month, Nikam said.
While political experts claim that the Modi Magic is missing in the 2024 general election, the common people in the street -- at least those in the crowd on Thursday -- vow that they will vote for Modi and the candidate who contests the election doesn't matter much.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances