Judge M L Tahaliyani who sentenced Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab to death has been promoted as the Principal Sessions Judge of the city civil and Sessions Court in Mumbai.
Tahaliyani took over as the Principal Judge of civil and sessions court yesterday, a day after he sent the 22-year-old gunman to the gallows for killing 166 persons in the 26/11 terror attacks and waging war against India.
Tahaliyani, who conducted the 26/11 trial in his capacity as the additional principal Judge, took charge from Judge M T Joshi who has been transferred to Nanded civil and sessions judge as the principal judge.
46-year-old Tahaliyani was welcomed by court staff, lawyers and other judges when he went to the sessions court yesterday to take charge of the new assignment.
Born in a Sindhi family, Judge Tahaliyani hails from Rajasthan. His family shifted to Mul (Maroda) in Chandrapur district. He did his matriculation from Nagpur and graduation in Commerce and Law from Gondia's NMD College under the Nagpur University.
Judge Tahaliyani first practiced law at Gondia but later shifted to Chandrapur. He was government pleader at Gadchiroli, Wadsa and Sironcha.
Principal Judge Tahaliyani began his career in Mumbai as a Metropolitan Magistrate in Bandra court in 1987. He became additional sessions judge in 1997 and was promoted as a judge in civil and sessions court in early 2000 where he conducted the murder trials of Music baron Gulshan Kumar and union leader Datta Samant.
He was transferred to the Bombay High Court as Registrar (Inspection). He was appointed as the Judge of the 26/11 special court in 2009.
