Ujjwal Nikam and (below) Abbas Kazmi after Kasab’s confession. (PTI, AFP)

Mumbai, July 20: Ajmal Kasab’s sudden change of heart is being seen with suspicion by many in the legal fraternity, including his own lawyer.

“His confession has surprised me. It seems like a very well thought out tactical move — this way he can waste some time of the court and later claim that his confession came under duress. Unless the judge is fully able to ascertain the voluntariness of the confession, it means nothing. An accused can plead guilty or not guilty at any stage of the trial,” said criminal lawyer Satish Maneshinde, who defended actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Bombay blasts case.

Maneshinde said he believed Kasab’s strategy was to ensure that the rest of the witnesses and evidence compiled did not come to light. “The other evidences must be brought into record before accepting his plea to determine why and how he has confessed. Frankly, I find it a little difficult to believe that his lawyer was in the dark about his decision,” he said.

S.G. Abbas Kazmi, Kasab’s lawyer who holds regular media briefings, denied knowledge on why Kasab had confessed.

“I have no idea (why he confessed). It was shocking for everyone, including me. I am surprised how he came to know that Pakistan has owned up to his nationality. I met him last Friday. This news broke on Saturday. Clearly he has heard it from the policemen who guard him. I wonder what made him confess,” said Kazmi, while hinting that Kasab may have confessed under pressure.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said he feared exactly this.

“It seems to me the confession is just a ploy to waste the court’s time. He will later claim it came under duress. Meanwhile he will confuse everybody by claiming an Indian hand. We have decided to investigate the allegation of an Indian hand. We are not going to let him off easily,” he said.

“Officially,” Nikam said, “Kasab says he has taken the decision after Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency’s decision to chargesheet the 26/11 accused back home. But there may be more to it.”

Criminal lawyer Majid Memon, however, believes the road to sentencing Kasab is more or less clear now.

“The judge has two options. He can either seek more corroborative evidence to justify the confession and press ahead with the full trial. Or he may take the confession at face value and pronounce a judgement. Our legal system provides for both options. But if he wants to go by the confession alone, he will need to check the absence of external influence and pressures, by speaking to the government-appointed lawyer, asking him why his client is pleading guilty at this juncture. He can even address the accused directly,” said Memon.

Legal experts felt that if the plea of guilty was accepted by the court, Kasab’s trial would be aborted, but that of the other accused would continue. In that case, the judgment will depend on how soon the trial of the others gets over.

Mumbai police officials claimed Kasab confessed because he knew there was no way out. “Kasab had confessed under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a magistrate this February. There is no way an accused can retract from a statement made under this section. Besides, it is similar to the confessional statement he made before the police two weeks after the Mumbai attacks,” said Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner (crime), who investigated the case.

“In case an accused retracts his statement at the time of the trial, he can be hauled up for perjury. I think when he realised that the evidence and statements of witnesses against him would put him in the dock, he pleaded guilty to avoid perjury, and hope for a lenient sentence,” he added.