Ujjwal Nikam Explained

Ujjwal Nikam
Birth Date:	30 March 1953^[1]
Birth Place:	Jalgaon, Bombay State, India
Nationality:	Indian
Occupation:	Lawyer
Party:	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse:	Jyoti Nikam
Children:	2
Awards:	Padma Shri (2016)^[2]

Ujjwal Nikam (born 30 March 1953) is an Indian special public prosecutor who has worked on prominent murder and terrorism cases. He helped prosecute suspects in the 1993 Bombay bombings, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was also the special public prosecutor in the 2013 Mumbai gang rape case, 2016 Kopardi rape and murder case.^{[3] [4]} Ujjwal Nikam argued on behalf of the state during the 26/11 Mumbai attack trial.

Nikam was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2016.^[5]

He has been given a security detail with a classification of Z+, the second highest level of security in India.^[6]

During the ongoing 2024 Indian General elections, he was nominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party to replace Poonam Mahajan as Mumbai North Central candidate. https://www.news18.com/india/lok-sabha-polls-bjp-replaces-poonam-mahajan-with-26-11-lawyer-ujjwal-nikam-from-mumbai-north-central-8868911.html

Early life and education

Nikam was born in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, to Marathi parents. His father, Deoraoji Nikam, was a judge and barrister, and his mother was a homemaker.^[7]

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree, he earned a law degree from the K.C.E. Society's S. S. Maniyar Law College in Jalgaon.^[8] His son, Aniket, is also a criminal lawyer in High Court Mumbai.^[9]

Career

Nikam began his career as a district prosecutor in Jalgaon and worked his way up to state and national trials. In a 30-year career, he has secured 628 life imprisonments and 37 death penalties.

Rape and murder cases

• Murder of Gulshan Kumar (1997): Kumar, a Bollywood film producer, was shot on 12 August 1997 outside a temple in Andheri. Nineteen people were charged in the case, but all except one were acquitted in 2002.^[10]
• Marine Drive rape case (2005): Police constable Sunil More was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl in a police station on Marine Drive in Mumbai and sentenced to 12 years in prison.^[11]
• Khairlanji massacre (2006): A Dalit family was beaten and murdered in Khairlanji, a small village in Maharashtra, on 29 September 2006 by a mob from the more powerful Kunbi caste. On 15 September 2008, six people were sentenced to death and two others given life imprisonment in the killings. The death sentences were later commuted to life in prison.^[12]
• Murder of Pramod Mahajan (2006): Mahajan, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was shot by his younger brother, Pravin Mahajan, after a family dispute on 22 April 2006. Pravin was sentenced to life in prison in December 2007.^[13]
• Mumbai gang rape (2013): In a verdict on 4 April 2014, three repeat offenders were sentenced to death for gang-raping a photojournalist at the Shakti Mills compound in Mumbai, and a fourth received a life term.^[14]
• Murder of Pallavi Purkayastha (2013): Purkayastha, a 25-year-old woman living in Wadala, was fatally stabbed by a watchman in her building, Sajjad Moghul, after she resisted his attempts to rape her.^[15] Moghul was sentenced to life in prison in July 2014.^[16]
• Murder of Preeti Rathi (2013): Ankur Panwar was convicted and sentenced to death in September 2016 for killing Rathi, a 23-year-old woman, with acid on 2 May 2013 after she rejected his marriage proposal.^[17]
• Kopardi rape and murder case (2016): In July 2016, a 15-year-old girl was gang-raped and strangled in the village of Kopardi, in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Nikam opened the trial against three defendants in local court on 19 October 2016.^[18] Sessions court awards death sentence to all 3 convicts.^[19]
• Mohsin Shaikh's murder case (2014): On 2 June 2014, Mohsin Shaikh, an IT professional working as an IT manager in a private textile firm, was attacked and killed allegedly by the Hindu Rashtra Sena while he was returning from a prayer at Unnati Nagar. Shaikh's family sought Nikam's appointment as the public prosecutor in a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. Subsequently, he was made the special public prosecutor in the case by the Government of Maharashtra.^{[20] [21]}

Terrorism cases

• 1991 Kalyan bombing: Ravinder Singh was convicted of bombing a railway station in Kalyan on 8 November 1991, killing 12 people.^[22]
• 1993 Bombay bombings: A special court was set up in 2000 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act to try suspects in the series of 13 explosions that took place in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 12 March 1993, killing 257 people in what was then India's worst terrorist attack.^[23] The trial lasted almost 14 years, and dozens of people were convicted.^[24]
• 2003 Gateway of India bombing: Two car bombs went off in Mumbai on 25 August 2003, one at a jewelry market and the other at the Gateway of India, a popular tourist attraction.^[25] Three men were convicted and sentenced to death in August 2009.^[26]
• 2008 Mumbai attacks: The three-day siege of Mumbai in November 2008—which targeted luxury hotels, a Jewish center, and other sites^[27] —left more than 160 people dead.^[28] Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker captured alive by the police, was sentenced to death on 6 May 2010 and hanged on 21 November 2012.^[29]

In December 2010, Nikam represented the Government of India at a worldwide convention on terrorism held at the United Nations in New York.^[30]

In popular culture

In 2017, Nikam's life story was made into a film, Aadesh - Power of Law.^[31]

Notes and References

1. News: 2024-04-27 . Who is Ujjwal Nikam, BJP's LS candidate and 26/11 prosecutor who used the controversial 'biryani' story to convict Ajmal Kasab? . 2024-04-28 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
2. Web site: Rajinikanth gets Padma Vibhushan; Padma Shri for Priyanka, Ajay Devgn. 26 January 2016.
3. Web site: Finish photojournalist rape trial in 60 days, Ujjwal Nikam told | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis . Dnaindia.com . 2013-09-24 . 2016-01-18.
4. News: How Ujjwal Nikam sparked missing rape suspect rumours . Mumbai Mirror . 2013-09-27 . 2016-01-18.
5. Web site: Padma awards 2016 declared: Anupam Kher, Rajinikanth, Vinod Rai, Sania Mirza honoured among others . . 25 January 2016 . 29 July 2016.
6. Vijapurkar . Mahesh . Ujjwal Nikam's phones stolen while his guards slept: Z-Plus security isn't all it's cracked up to be . . June 6, 2017.
7. News: 2024-04-27 . Who is Ujjwal Nikam, BJP's LS candidate and 26/11 prosecutor who used the controversial 'biryani' story to convict Ajmal Kasab? . 2024-04-28 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
8. Web site: 5 Facts On Ujjwal Nikam, BJP's Candidate For Mumbai North Central Seat . 2024-04-28 . NDTV.com.
9. Web site: 2024-04-27 . Meet Ujjwal Nikam, BJP Lok Sabha candidate who cooked up 'biryani' story to nail Ajmal Kasab . 2024-04-28 . Hindustan Times . en.
10. News: Gulshan case: 1 convicted, 18 freed. 2002-04-24. The Times of India. 2017-01-13.
11. News: Marine Drive rape case: Sunil Atmaram More sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Thakurdesai. Prerana. 2006-04-17. The Times of India. 2017-01-13.
12. News: Death sentences dropped for mob murder of Dalit family. 2010-07-14. BBC News. en-GB. 2017-01-13.
13. Web site: Pravin Mahajan sentenced to life term. 2007-12-18. www.indiaabroad.com. 2017-01-13.
14. Web site: Shakti Mills gang-rape case: Three repeat offenders get death, life term for one | Zee News . Zeenews.india.com . 2014-04-04 . 2016-01-18.
15. Web site: 'Pervert' watchman murdered Pallavi: Police. Deccan Herald. 2017-01-13.
16. News: Pallavi Purkayastha murder case: life sentence to guilty watchman sajjad moghul. Patrika Group. 7 July 2014.
17. News: Preeti Rathi murder case convict gets death sentence. 2016-09-08. The Hindu. 2017-01-13.
18. News: Trial in Kopardi rape and murder case begins. Staff Reporter. 2016-10-20. PTI News. En-GB. 2016-10-20.
19. News: Kopardi rape and murder case: Sessions court awards death sentence to all 3 convicts. November 29, 2017. TimesNow. 2017-11-29.
20. News: Mohsin Shaikh murder case: Family writes to CM, seeks appointment of Ujjwal Nikam as public prosecutor. 12 June 2017. The Indian Express. 24 January 2017.
21. News: Another accused gets bail in Mohsin Shaikh murder case. 12 June 2017. The Times of India.
22. News: 1991 Kalyan Station Blast: Convict who jumped parole held in Punjab. 2016-08-17. The Indian Express. 2017-01-13.
23. News: Underworld family guilty of 1993 Mumbai bombings. Ramesh. Randeep. 2006-09-12. The Guardian. en-GB. 0261-3077. 2017-01-13.
24. News: Full list of convicted and acquitted in 1993 Mumbai blasts case. India TV News. en-US. 2017-01-13.
25. Web site: BBC ON THIS DAY 25 2003: Bombay rocked by twin car bombs. news.bbc.co.uk. 2017-01-13.
26. News: Three get death for Gateway, Zaveri Bazar blasts. 2009-08-07. The Times of India. 2017-01-13.
27. News: At Least 100 Dead in India Terror Attacks. Sengupta. Somini. 2008-11-26. The New York Times. 0362-4331. 2017-01-13.
28. Web site: India executes last gunman from Mumbai attacks. Singh. Harmeet Shah. 2012-11-21. CNN. 2017-01-13.
29. News: Kasab’s Execution: After Hanging 2008 Terrorist, What Lessons Has India Learned?. Bhowmick. Nilanjana. 2012-11-21. Time. 0040-781X. 2017-01-13.
30. News: Ujjwal Nikam to represent India at convention on terrorism in U.N.. https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092944/http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/29/stories/2010112959911600.htm. dead. 7 April 2014. 29 Nov 2012. The Hindu. 10 Feb 2012.
31. Web site: Irrfan Khan, Priyanshu Chatterjee to work in film on Abu Salem . 24 August 2020.