It was special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's moment in the sun as the HC upheld the death sentence for Ajmal Kasab.

Always one for theatrics, Nikam, addressing the media outside court said, "Badle tumne rang bahut, bahut badle nakab; Fansi tak hamne tumhe la hi diya Kasab. (You changed colours, you changed masks; but in the end I brought you to the gallows)."

That's how Nikam responded to the confirmation of death sentence to the Pakistani terrorist in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Describing 24-year-old Kasab as "nautanki ka khalnayak" (villain of a drama) and "atank ki andhi" (the storm of terror), Nikam said the terrorist never showed any remorse after being captured and even told a magistrate in his confessional statement that he felt sorry for arriving late at CST as there were fewer people whom he could kill.

Rediff.com's Prasanna Zore says acquitted Indian, Fahim Ansari's, wife, Yasmin says she is yet to meet him after the HC verdict upholding his acquittal. She says she expects to see him as a free man soon.

So, how must it be to defend the indefensible?How was it to defend

Amin Solkar, the senior lawyer who defended Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 case, said it was a challenging job for him to take the brief of the Pakistani terrorist, whom he frequently found in a "wavering frame of mind".

"In the initial stage of every legal interview he appeared to be calm and polite but as it went on he would go wild and just walk off," Solkar said.

In the first interview, Kasab had expressed his desire to interact with other convicts similarly placed like him and wanted to read about the outside world, which was refused by the court, Solkar said, adding his irritability was possibly the outcome of solitary confinement.

"In one of the interviews, Kasab spoke about his family in Pakistan and then went silent," Solkar said.

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa files this report.

Even as the government of Maharashtra has decided to go in appeal against the acquittal of Sabahuddin Sheikh and Fahim Ansari who according to the police were the men who conducted a survey for the 26/11 attack, the legal team for Sabahuddin have decided to approach the Supreme Court immediately.

However this would be a case of damages against Ujwal Nikam and the state of Maharashtra.

Advocate for Sabahuddin, Ejaz Naqvi told rediff.com that the state government will have to cough up the damages for the mental trauma that his client had to undergo.

Details soon on rediff.com

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said he was unhappy with the acquittal of the two Indian accused in the 26/11 case by the Bombay High Court.

He said the government would file an appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court. "We are unhappy that our appeal against the two accused persons was not upheld by the High Court. I have discussed the matter with government pleader Ujjwal Nikam."

Home minister P Chidambaram reacts to the Ajmal Kasab verdict:

I compliment the prosecution. This is a tribute to our legal system. The manner in which way we dealt with Kasab case has actually raised the prestige of Indian legal system."

Another case came up for hearing today...

Three more prosecution witnesses were examined today in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Jayendra Saraswathi are the main accused.

When hearing in the case resumed before the Principal District and sessions Judge T Ramaswamy, only seven of the 24 accused were present. The absentees included the two seers.

Of the 154 witnesses examined so far since commencement of the trial two years ago, as many as 75 have turned hostile.

Sankararaman, Manager of the Varadararjaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004. The two seers had been accused of hatching a conspiracy to murder Sankararaman.

Has India lost interest in the 26/11 trial? Ajmal Kasab is finally trending on Twitter, two hours after the HC upheld his death sentence. And, he's below Libya and the World Cup.Here you go...

_hSHarjot S. Singh #Kasabis like the annual budget. He shows up and trends once in a year and the source of revenue is our Income Tax.

tweezewPageWhatever the degree of crime is, we have no right to take someone's life. The justice should punish, not order death

Nidhik20Nidhi Khullar#Kasabwanted to be a role model, so he became a suicide bomber: Bombay High Court !!

In a long overdue measure, the Indian authorities have begun floodlighting work along the Indo-Pak border.

However, Pakistan Rangers raised questions over the work along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir. India told them that the project was aimed at checking infiltration of militants andwould continue.

"They (Pak Rangers) raised a query (over floodlight work). They questioned the project. We clarified to them that work is being done for under-ground cabling for installation of flood lights", a senior BSF officer said.

From the blog Dilli Chaat...

Everyone is beginning to see the importance of Sunil Khilnani, who is the author of The Idea of India and is currently working on a new book, India in Search of Wealth and Power.Later this year, he will become director of the India Institute at King's College, London.

The buzz is that he is emerging as the new speech writer of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Impressed by his writings and columns, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul are supposed to tapping him for ideas. Khilani was working as director of South Asia studies with John Hopkins University, Washington before he picked the new job at King's College, London.

Read more

The dailymail.co.uk reports that Britain faces growing condemnation over its courting of Colonel Gaddafi after the Libyan dictator ordered the slaughter of hundreds of his own people -- at last count over 200 dead.

The United Nations and the US Ambassador to London questioned the UK's cosy trade links with Tripoli yesterday after it was found that British weapons are believed to have been used to murder more than 200 Libyan pro-democracy demonstrators.

Read more

In the Philippines, hundreds of villagers fled to safety today after a restive volcano belched ash and smoke into the sky after a month-long lull.

Despite Mount Bulusan's ash explosion, its 13th since November, there were no signs of an imminent eruption involving magma pushing out of the cone.

The huge plume of grayish smoke shot up to more thantwo kilometers toward the sky, with the ash drifting southwest toward four farming towns where about 1,200 villagers fled to emergency shelters and houses of relatives.

In Pakistan, at least five militants were killed in a suspected US drone strike in northwest Pakistan's South Waziristan.

The Libyan ambassador to India Ali Al Assavi has resigned in protest against the killings in Libya, says Mrityunjoy Kumar Jhaon Twitter.

Protests against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's rule have left at least 200 dead and an unknown number injured since 16 February.

Benghazi, the country's second city, has seen the worst of the violence, with security forces reportedly using machine-guns and heavy weapons on crowds. By 20 February, doctors were saying more than 200 people had died.

This is what happened in the Bombay High Court today.

Confirming the death penalty to 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, the court termed the case as rarest of rare and held there was "no scope of reform" of the convict.

"There is no scope of reform or rehabilitation of the convicted accused. It is a rarest of rare case and the court cannot be more confident than it is today that death penalty must be given," a division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More observed, upholding the death sentence to 24-year-old Kasab.

"Aapko saza-e-maut yeh adalat barkarar karti hai. Aap Supreme Court mein appeal zari kar sakte hain (Your death sentence is upheld. You can appeal before the Supreme Court)," Justice Desai told a bearded Kasab, clad in a spotless white kurta and sporting a grin, through video conferencing.

The court upheld Kasab's conviction on all charges including multiple murders, conspiracy and waging war against the nation.

Farhana Shah, Kasab's lawyer says, he will be informed that he can appeal to the Supreme Court. "Whether he wants to appeal, is entirely up to him. Nobody can stop him. We will inform him, as his advocate." He will get 30 days to file an appeal.

Just in: Maharashtra government will appeal against acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed within 60 days.

Fahim Ansari's father addressing the media outside the High Court says he is happy that his son was acquittedin the case. Trashes the Maharashtra government for its "coming down heavily on Muslims in terror cases".

FahimAnsari and Sabauddin Ahmed was accused of doing a recce of the terror targets and preparing maps for the LeT.

On to other news...

The budget session of Parliament began today and in a miracle of sorts -- without ruckus, without adjournments -- yet. President Pratibha Patil opened the session addressing the issue of black money stashed abroad. Shesaid, "My government stands committed to tackling the menace frontally. It requires diligent, sustained effort by all law enforcement agencies including those of state governments," she said addressing a joint sitting of members of Parliament, marking the start of the budget session.

She expressed concern over ill effects of black money, especially that was allegedly stashed away in foreign banks either through evasion of taxes on income earned legitimately or through illegal activities.

Noting that the government has taken many steps to strengthen the legal framework, the President said a multi-disciplinary study has been commissioned to go into its ramifications for national security and recommend a suitable framework to tackle it.

World media on Ajmal Kasab's death sentence.

Pakistan's Dawn: Two Indian judges on Monday rejected the appeal of the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks against his conviction and death sentence, television reports said. (Please note, there's no mention that Kasab is a Pakistani)

BBC: The high court in India's western city of Mumbai has confirmed the death penalty for the sole surviving gunman of the 2008 attacks. Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, a Pakistani national, was given death sentence by a lower court in May last year.

Journalists present inside the Bombay High Court today said the CCTV images via video conferencing showed the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab laughing when the death sentence was pronounced by the judge. He smiled and then thanked the judge for the verdict.

Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail together killed 56 people on the night of November 26, 2008.

This is not the end of the journey for Ajmal Kasab -- he has two options now. He can appeal to the Supreme Court and even if the SC upholds the HC death sentence, he can appeal to the President of India for mercy.

It may be remembered that Sabauddin Ahmed and Fahim Ansari -- who were acquitted today for their involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had been accused for preparing the maps of the terror targets and handed those over to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba for execution of their plans.

Thewere acquitted of all charges as the court said the evidence produced by the prosecution could not be relied upon.

In May 2008, the trial court also held that 20 of the wanted accused, including Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed, operations chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Hamza, were involved in 26/11 conspiracy.

As the Bombay High Court upheld the death sentence for 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, here's an interesting read on Kasab's execution, written at the time the trial court had awarded the death penalyt on May 6, 2010.

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa writes...

Kasab is likely to be executed at the Yerawada Prison in Pune. A person sentenced to death in Maharashtra is usually executed at the Yerawada prison or the Nagpur prison.

But there is no hangman to carry out executions now. Jhadhav, the sole hangman in Maharashtra, retired in 1995.

Though the stipulated retirement age for a hangman is 58 years, the government has bent the rules due to the difficulty in finding candidates for such a job. In special cases, hangmen are recalled from retirement to carry out executions.

Read more

The Bombay High Court has also dismissed the case against Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed.

The Maharashtra government had filed a plea against the acquittal of two Indians accused of aiding in the commission of the crime. Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin had been acquitted by the trial court on May 6, the day it held Kasab guilty and ordered him to be sent to the gallows, on the ground of "doubtful evidence".

The Bombay High Court today has upheld the death sentence for 26/11 Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, nine months after he was pronounced guilty of perpetrating the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and sentenced to death.

The division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More, apart from pronouncing this judgement, the court will also deliver its verdict on Maharashtra government's plea against the acquittal of two Indians accused of aiding in commission of the crime

Ahead of the Budget session in Parliament today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says, "It is our sincere hope that this session will be peaceful and productive as the Budget session of Parliament is very crucial." Putting aside its winter fiasco, Parliament is all set for a smooth budget session today with the government telling the opposition that an announcement on the constitution of a JPC into the 2G spectrum will be made on Tuesday. "We also hope to bring some important pieces of legislation for consideration of Parliament," he said.

Government has been under opposition attack over 2G spectrum allocation, Adarsh housing, CWG and ISRO S-band scams. The winter session of Parliament was a washout with the opposition insisting on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G scam. "It's our sincere hope that this session will be peaceful and productive," Singh said.

A Delhi court today deferred till March 4 pronouncement of its judgement on the CBI's plea to drop the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the two-decade-old Bofors payoff case. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav posted for March 4 his order on the CBI's plea seeking withdrawal of the case against 70-year-old Quattrocchi, who has never appeared before any court in India to face trial.

The CBI had, in October 2009, sought permission of the court to withdraw the case against Quattrocchi, saying his continued prosecution was "unjustified" in the light of various factors including the agency's failed attempts to get him extradited -- first from Malaysia in 2003 and then from Argentina in 2007.

A charge sheet was filed against Quattrocchi for allegedly receiving a payoff for brokering the Bofors gun deal.

Up ahead today, the Bombay high court will deliver its verdict on the fate of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab

Nine months after he was pronounced guilty of perpetrating the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and sentenced to death.The division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More, apart from pronouncing the judgement on confirmation of death sentence to Kasab, will also deliver its verdict on Maharashtra government's plea against the acquittal of two Indians accused of aiding in commission of the crime.

Ajmal Kasab recites Quran, offers prayers in jail ahead of verdict(DNA)

The Bombay high court will deliver its verdict on the fate of Kasab today, nine months after he was awarded death penalty by the trial court for the death of 166 persons in the 26/11 terror attacks

PC settled, Parliament looks set for smooth budget session(DNA)

After one estimate suggested Rs150 crore had been spent on the wasted winter session, all-round criticism led both sides to think of ways to emerge from the impasse. Tuesday's expected JPC announcement could clear the way for Parliament to begin functioning again.

I-T crackdown on politicians lying about their wealth(The Times of India)

For the first time, the Income Tax department has launched a drive to cleanse dirty money from politics and initiated action against at least 300 high networth politicians for alleged misreporting of wealth in their yearly returns.

Abductors continuously shift camp sites(The Hindu)

Abducted Malkangiri Collector R.Vineel Krishna and the junior engineer Pabitra Majhi are safe, according to a top civil rights activist close to Maoists.

Don't leave Delhi, police tell Syed Ali Shah Geelani(DNA)

The development, which comes a day after the Centre's interlocutors formally invited the separatist leader for talks, has angered the hard line Hurriyat Conference so much that it has called for a Kashmir bandh on Tuesday

TN polls: Cong-DMK pact within 3 days(Hindustan Times)

The first formal seat-sharing talks between the Congress and the DMK for the Tamil Nadu assembly polls due in May remained inconclusive on Sunday, but the allies expressed confidence that the numbers would be finalised within the next three days.

Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus our fault: Farooq(The Indian Express)

Union Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said that mistakes committed in the past led to the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir as also to the prevailing political uncertainty in the state

I-T limit may be raised by Rs 20k(Hindustan Times)

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee may have some good news for the salaried class in his forthcoming budget, with the government considering a Rs 20,000 raise in the income tax exemption limit from the current Rs 1.60 lakh per annum.

India tells citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Libya(DNA)

India today said all its 18,000 nationals in Libya are safe but issued an advisory asking citizens to avoid non-essential travel to that country which is being rocked by unprecedented protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Gaddafi's son warns of civil war in Libya(The Hindu)

After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital and protesters seized military bases and weapons on Sunday, Muammar Gaddafi's son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army's backing and would "fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.