26/11 terror attack case: An unprecedented trial

The keenly-watched 26/11 trial was unprecedented in many ways in the country's judicial history and criminal jurisprudence.

For the first time, officials of premier American investigating agency FBI testified in an India court.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials examined the technical evidence, seized devices and helped the prosecution in establishing that the 10 terrorists who created mayhem in Mumbai between November 26 and 28,2008 had come from Pakistan via sea route from Karachi.

They threw light on from where the Global Positioning System (GPS) was activated and how during the attacks the terrorists were in constant touch with their handlers in Pakistan. The prosecution's case was that some terrorists had sought instructions from Pakistan-based handlers through voice over internet protocol (VOIP) in New Jersey, US.

The court was trying a terrorist who was caught alive for the first time. Ajmal Kasab, the face of 26/11 assault who massacred people at Mumbai CST station, was arrested on the intervening night of November 26-27.

It was also the shortest terror-related trial in the country with the proceedings wrapped up within a year. This was in sharp contrast to the 1993 Mumbai serial blast trial which took more than a decade to complete.

In another first, commandos of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a paramilitary force, were deployed to guard a terrorist lodged in the high security Arthur Road Jail here.