A bench of justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad, which reserved its judgement on the government's appeal against acquittals of accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, asked during the hearing as to why the duo would be using hand-drawn maps in this time and age of computers.
"There would be number of printed maps around (of Mumbai). We can pick up a printed map from a tourist guide also. Why would someone use such a (hand-drawn) map?," the bench pointedly asked former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for the state government.
The apex court had on Wednesday reserved its judgement on the appeal by sole surviving Pakistani terrorist Mohd Ajmal Kasab, involved in 26/11 attack, against his death sentence.
The prosecution against Faheem and Sabauddin was that the duo provided the logistic support to the terrorists and the hand-drawn maps of Mumbai were seized from them during their arrest.
On searching posers by the bench, Subramanium told it that Fahim had admitted that the maps were drawn by him in his own handwriting but he had claimed during trial that they were drawn under duress during police interrogation.
"I do not see anything in the map. It doesn't show what is south, what is north. In these days of computer it is like a man copying from a book by hand," said Justice Alam.
Subramanium countered the reasoning, insisting that despite advancement of technology people even today use scribbling or memo pads for various reasons.
"The maps may look puerile for some person, but for him (accused) it was a sense of direction from one place to another," he argued. (more) PTI RB