India – Mumbai Massacre Judge Confronts Hard Choices

India – A day after a stunning confession by the lone surviving gunman from last year’s terrorist attacks here, the judge presiding over his trial confronted some tough choices on how the court should proceed with the case.

The first option — accepting the admission of guilt by Ajmal Kasab, the 21-year-old Pakistani man accused of killing dozens of innocent people in a series of attacks on luxury hotels, a train station, a popular cafe and a Jewish center — would grant Mr. Kasab’s request for a quick end to the trial. The other options, which include rejecting the confession or making it a piece of evidence to be debated in court, would give the prosecution a chance to prove its assertion that Mr. Kasab tailored his confession in the hope of winning a more lenient sentence.

On Tuesday, the judge, M. L. Tahilyani, put off making a decision for at least one more day by adjourning court early to give the prosecution more time to prepare its formal response, which is expected on Wednesday. The judge also ordered journalists to refrain from publishing a brief message that Mr. Kasab tried to send to the Islamic extremists who sent him on his deadly mission.

“If he is satisfied that the confession is voluntary and true, then he can accept the confession, convict him and sentence based on this,” said Shanti Bhushan, a prominent lawyer here.

Given the severity of the crime and the overwhelming evidence against him, Mr. Kasab’s best hope is that his confession will help him escape a death sentence, something most legal experts here think is highly unlikely.

“If he does not confess in a case like this, a death sentence is a certainty” if he is convicted, Mr. Bhushan said. “Since he did, there is a slight chance that he will get imposition of prison for life. But it is not likely.”

Judge Tahilyani’s decision will probably be based on how credible he finds Mr. Kasab’s testimony, particularly as it relates to the killing of a police officer, Tukaram Omble, on Nov. 26, the day the attack on Mumbai started. While Mr. Kasab has admitted that he and his partner, Abu Ismail, shot commuters at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a busy train station, he has denied killing Mr. Omble and others who were shot after the two attackers left the station. The Indian government estimates 58 people died at the train station.

Mr. Kasab’s court-appointed defense attorney said on Tuesday that Mr. Omble might have died in a scuffle that took place when Mr. Kasab was being arrested. At the time, police officers were confiscating Mr. Kasab’s machine gun, dragging him out of a car and beating him with rifle butts and sticks, said S. G. Abbas Kazmi, the defense attorney. “I think Kasab very truthfully said whatever he wanted to say,” Mr. Kazmi said.

But the special prosecutor for the case, Ujjwal Nikam, asserted that Mr. Kasab was trying to portray himself as a bit player in the attacks by pinning the blame for the murders of Mr. Omble and others on the chaotic situation and on his partner, who died during the siege.

Mr. Nikam said Mr. Kasab’s latest description of the incidents that took place after they left the train station was inconsistent with confessions that he made to police officers and to a magistrate earlier this year.

“Kasab is great actor,” Mr. Nikam said. “He is expert in making dramatic moves from time to time, introducing new names, and statements to the court.”

More than 160 people died in the attacks, which were carried out by 10 men who came to Mumbai by sea from the Pakistani port city of Karachi. The attacks have left a deep mark on Mumbai, with the deaths of Mr. Omble and other police officers taking on special meaning, not unlike the deaths of firefighters in New York after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Newspapers and television stations have held up the deaths as an indictment of the poor equipment and training that police officers here receive.

In court on Tuesday, Judge Tahilyani gave no indication as to how he might rule on Mr. Kasab’s admission of guilt. The judge, however, was able to get Mr. Kasab to shed more light on how he came to change his plea.

On Monday, Mr. Kasab said he had decided to plead guilty after he learned that Pakistani officials had acknowledged he was a citizen of Pakistan, although they initially denied it. But he would not say how he learned this news given that he has no access to newspapers or television. On Tuesday, Mr. Kasab said he had heard the news from the guards on duty outside his cell.

Mr. Kasab also made a brief statement that he said was intended to be a message to the Islamic extremists who had sent him to Mumbai. Judge Tahilyani let him speak but then said that the media could not print what Mr. Kasab had said because it could inflame tensions between religious communities in India, which has been rocked by violent incidents between Hindus and Muslims in recent years.

Mr. Nikam added that any violation of the ban could be punishable by up to three years in prison under Indian law. Indian reporters in the courtroom protested to Judge Tahilyani that Mr. Kasab had not said anything new and noted that parts of his statement covered topics that had already been reported on by a British television documentary. The judge said he would address their concerns later.