There has been a literary fallout of Mumbai’s 26/11 terror attacks. From insider accounts, to tell all books, the carnage spawned a veritable oeuvre of 26/11 literature. More than a year ago, chief public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikkam was the chief guest at a release of a book called, ‘Qasab the face of 26/11’ written by journalist Rommel Rodrigues. The release function was held at the Press Club in South Mumbai.

On guard: Military personnel take position outside the Taj Hotel

As news of Ajmal Qasab’s hanging consumes India and is all-pervasive on news media, one recalls some of Nikkam’s words at the book release function. These seem prophetic today.u00a0In that function, Nikkam, sometimes with humour and other times with strong conviction sought to explain to journalists who were present at the launch, why the judicial process must be seen through its entirety and answered the one question frequently asked: “Qasab is guilty, so why must we go through all this? Why can't he hang immediately?”