Who is Ujjal Nikam? The ticket of Poonam Mahajan, who was fielded by the BJP
Mumbai. On Saturday, the BJP decided to field former government advocate Ujjal Nikam from the Mumbai North Central seat. Poonam Mahajan was elected MP from this seat since 2014. Earlier only Poonam Mahajan was given ticket. Nikam is credited with defending several high-profile cases, including that of terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The decision came 48 hours after the Congress fielded its Mumbai chief Varsha Gaikwad from the seat. Nikam is famous for his role as public prosecutor in the 26/11 attack case. The Mumbai North Central constituency in Maharashtra consists of six assembly constituencies and will go to polls on May 20. Counting of votes will take place on June 4. Here are 5 great things about Ujjwal Nikam-
Ujjal Nikam was born on 30 March 1953 in Jalgaon, Maharashtra to lawyer Devrao Madhavrao Nikam and famous freedom fighter Vimaladevi. Nikam holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Law degree from SS Maniyar Law College, Jalgaon.
Ujjal Nikam was a distinguished lawyer in some famous court cases. He played a major role in convicting Ravinder Singh for the 1991 Kalyan bomb blasts. A major turning point in his career came in 1993 when he became the public prosecutor in the Mumbai serial blasts case. He has served in the Special Court constituted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for over 14 years.
Ujjwal Nikam was the public prosecutor in the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caught after the 26/11 attacks. He successfully argued for Kasab’s death sentence.
Ujjwal Nikam’s legal career also includes several high-profile cases such as the 1997 murder case of Bollywood producer and T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar. In 2006, Nikam was also the prosecutor in the Pramod Mahajan murder case. In April 2006, due to a dispute, Bhai Praveen was shot dead.
Ujjwal Nikam was given Z-Plus security after 2009, when he became the prosecutor in the 26/11 case. In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.
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First Published: April 27, 2024, 22:42 IST
