Of the myriad cases that Ujjwal Nikam has handled, one is that of the murder of BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, whose daughter Poonam, a two-time MP, was replaced by the public prosecutor as the BJP nominee from Mumbai North Central constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Nikam has to his name several prominent cases that drew the media’s attention. Known most prominently as the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case in the trial against Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, Nikam has been sought after, across party lines, for many years to represent Maharashtra in crucial cases. This led him to be appointed in many cases, including the 2011 triple blasts, Shakti Mills gangrape cases, the Kopardi and Ahmednagar rape and murder cases.
“I have known Poonamji as I represented the state during the trial of her father’s murder. I had seen how hard-working she was during the case. She has so much experience…I hope to get her assistance as I represent the constituency,” Nikam told the media on Saturday immediately after his nomination as the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha candidate.
About his decision to join a political party, after over three decades as a lawyer, Nikam said he knew it was a big responsibility but one that he was ready to face.
“It is premature to speak on the topics I will campaign for but I will try to understand the issues faced by people, especially in Mumbai North Central, and try to represent them in the Lok Sabha. I have represented Maharashtra in many important cases and I will ensure that I continue to raise my voice against those who are against the nation. I want to ensure that the poor get access to justice,” said Nikam.
For now, sounding more like a lawyer than an aspirant politician, Nikam’s plank to garner votes also seems to be borrowing substantially from his legal career, speaking of terms like ‘deshdroh’ and ‘nyaay’.
Nikam started his career as a civil lawyer in Jalgaon, where he also attained his law degree. His first big break in representing Maharashtra came when the 1993 Bombay blasts trial began in Mumbai—a case where he examined a few witnesses. Nikam, however, became a household name in India and also gained fame in international media, when he began representing Maharashtra during the 26/11 terror trial against Ajmal Kasab.
Many also criticised Nikam then for his overzealous manners during a trial, bordering into exaggeration. Nikam famously mentioned that Kasab had demanded biryani only to tell reporters later that he had ‘made up the statement…to divert people’s attention’.
It was perhaps his reputation in demanding strict punishment for accused, that made many families of victims make a demand for him to be appointed as a prosecutor in their cases.
In recent years, Nikam has taken a backseat as a prosecutor, not having taken up any recent prominent cases and dropping out of some cases mid-trial, including the 2011 Mumbai triple blasts case, the murder of Mohsin Shaikh, where members of a Hindu right-wing group were facing charge of his murder in Pune in 2014, double murders of artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer in 2015.
Nikam continues to be a prosecutor in a few cases including the 26/11 trial against Zaibuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, which has been stayed by the Bombay High Court for the past few years and the murder case of actor Laila Khan, which is at its fag end. In more recent years, Nikam has also been a mainstay for television channels for a byte on Maharashtra politics, including the split in parties.
