Court shocked by Mustafa Dossa’s sudden death

The special court on Wednesday expressed ‘shock’ over the sudden death of Mustafa Dossa, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case. The special court along with the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) termed his death as an ‘unfortunate’ incident and adjourned the hearing on quantum of punishment for Abu Salem and three others, till Friday.

Justice Govind Sanap, presiding over the special court designated to hear cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), voiced grief on Dossa’s death.

He said, “I can say that the death is unfortunate and I am in shock. Accordingly, I am inclined to allow the prosecution’s plea to adjourn the arguments on quantum of punishment till Friday.”

Having heard about Dossa’s death and the ‘disturbance’ it has caused both to his family and the prosecution, Justice Sanap also tried to condole the dozens of advocates and other convicts in the courtroom.

Justice Sanap said, “I have been taking care of them (the convicts) and this incident is equally shocking for me. There is a difference between an accused and a human being.”

Interestingly, the special public prosecutor Deepak Salvi, who had sought death penalty for Dossa just a day before, was also ‘shocked’ by the news.

A pale-looking Salvi, informed the court that he was ‘not in a position’ to argue the matter and requested to defer the hearing until Monday.

Advocate Abdul Wahab Khan, representing one of the convicts, too supported Salvi’s submissions, which is a rare view in the courtroom. Even he urged the court to adjourn the matter for at least a week.

However, Justice Sanap refused to adjourn the matter till Monday and instead kept it for hearing this Friday.

“Everyone is disturbed but that does not mean that we have to stop working. We have to move on now,” Justice Sanap said.