The confirmation of Qasab’s death sentence comes after nine months after the trial court pronounced the death sentence on May 6 last year. However, the court dismissed the appeal of the Maharashtra government against the acquittal of Ansari and Sabauddin. The bench said that it concurred with the trial court’s observation that there was no evidence to prove the involvement of the two Indians, Ansari and Sabauddin, in the terror attacks.

The Mumbai police had filed 12 cases against Qasab out of which the trial court had sentenced him to death in five cases.

Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam who represented the Maharashtra government in his arguments in the court, had pleaded for the confirmation of the death sentence to Qasab. The defense lawyers Farhana Shah and Amin Solkar appointed by the Maharashtra State Legal Aid Center argued on behalf of Qasab.

Nikam argued against the acquittal of Ansari and Ahmed and claimed that the two were associated with the terrorist organization Lashkar-E-Toiba (LeT) and the police had seized maps of sensitive places of Mumbai from them. However, the trial court special judge ML Tahiliani had found the claims made by Nikam as suspicious and ordered the acquittal of Ansari and Ahmed.

The public prosecutor in his arguments in the high court had claimed that the judgment given by the trial court judge acquitting the two accused was wrong, but both the judges of the high court upheld the judgment of the trial court and confirmed the acquittal of Ansari and Ahmed.

Emerging out of the court and speaking to the media a jubilant Nikam flashed a victory sign and quoted a self penned Urdu couplet “Badle Tumne rang bahut, bahut badle nakab; Fansi tak hamne tumhe la hi diya Qasab. (You changed colors, you changed masks; but in the end I brought you to the gallows.)"

Nikam also announced that he would recommend to the state government to move the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Ansari and Ahmed.

Defense lawyer Shah said she would inform Qasab about the judgment and that he still has the legal option available to appeal to the Supreme Court of India. The decision to appeal against the court's judgment has to be taken by Qasab, but I will also inform him that this judgment is not the ultimate and that he still has the opportunity to move the Supreme Court of India to seek settlement aside of the Mumbai high court's verdict."