Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
While the BJP gave ticket to Ujjwal Nikam who argued against 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) gave Rajya Sabha ticket to Majeed Memon, a lawyer who defended the terrorist in court.
The post can be seen here.
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Fact
We found that Memon was in fact a Rajya Sabha MP from NCP from 2014 to 2020, however he later quit the party in 2022 and joined the TMC the same year. It is to be noted that during Memon’s tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP representing the NCP, the party had not yet split into two separate factions.
Following this, we did a keyword search for “Majeed Memon” and “Kasab” on Google, but did not find any credible reports suggesting that he had represented the terrorist in court.
Infact, a PTI report, dated December 6, 2008, quoted Majeed Memon as saying that “There are certain ethical restraints which may stop a conscientious lawyer from defending certain accused persons. When a lawyer is aware that the accused was in fact caught red handed committing an extremely serious offence, there is no question of us appearing in this case.”
Justifying the reason behind his decision not to appear for Ajmal Kasab, Memon wrote in Times Of India on December 21, 2008, “As far as I am concerned, I will not defend him in court because his case is indefensible. We have all seen him committing the crime. His guilt is beyond doubt.”
However, we found that he did appear for many accused in the 1993 Bombay serial blast case.
On further probe we found that Kasab was initially represented by lawyer Abbas Kazmi and then later advocate KP Pawar but was eventually sentenced to death by the trial court.
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Following his death sentence, Kasab approached the Bombay HC. Lawyers Amin Solkar and Farhana Shah were appointed for Kasab by the Bombay High Court, an NDTV article published on June 8, 2010 reported. The Bombay court upheld Kasab’s death sentence in 2011.
Kasab further filed a plea with the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict. The apex court had then appointed senior advocate Raju Ramachandran as its amicus curiae to assist in the hearing of the case. Ramachandran and his assistant Gaurav Agarwal were also in news for refusing to accept remuneration for their services in the case. In August 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Kasab, thereby ending the trial.
Thus, we find that Majeed Memon never argued for Ajmal Kasab during any stage of the trial.
However, Ujjwal Nikam who is the BJP’s candidate from the Mumbai North Central constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls did indeed argue in favour of the death sentence for Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror case.
We could thus conclude that the viral claim is partly false. While BJP’s Lok Sabha Candidate Ujjwal Nikam did argue in favour of death penalty to terrorist Kasab, there is no evidence to show that former NCP leader Memon represented him in any stage of the trial.
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Result: Partly False
Sources
Report Published In Rediff.com, Dated December 6, 2008
Article Published In Times Of India, Dated December 21, 2008
YouTube Video By NDTV, Dated December 1, 2008
Report By NDTV, Dated June 8, 2010
Report By The Hindu, Dated September 22, 2011
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
