Abbas Kazmi, Kasabs new defence lawyer. - AFP (File Photo)

NEW DELHI Ajmal Kasab, the surviving gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, laughs and giggles in the court trying him for mass murder, his new defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi said on Thursday, adding that his client had not realised the enormity of the case against him.

Press Trust of India said Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the heavily guarded special court in Mumbai`s Arthur Jail that Kasab, the prime accused in the case, would be charged with murder of 166 persons in the attack unleashed by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e- Taiba group.

Even as the court said it would forward the request of Kasab to Pakistan through diplomatic channels, it has appointed Mr Kazimi to defend him as per Indian law.

Mr Kazmi is a private lawyer, not belonging to the legal aid panel. He is a well-known name in the legal circle and has already been introduced to the accused. He is a member of the Sessions Bar Council and is the amicus curie in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Mr Kazmi said Kasab did not understand the gravity of the Mumbai terror attacks case or the charges against him. He was permitted to meet his new client at the jail premises after the days` proceedings were completed in the Special Court set up there.

`It is clear from the way he was laughing and giggling in the Special Court on Wednesday and Thursday that Kasab has no inkling of the seriousness of the case against him. I tried explaining it to him, including the extent of the punishment he faces, but he failed to see the gravity of the situation,` Mr Kazmi was quoted by CNN-IBN news channel as saying.

He said he tried to impress upon Kasab that he could face a life term or a death sentence, but `he does not seem to realise it`.

Mr Kazmi was provided police security after he came out of the Special Court. He had also appeared on behalf of over two dozen accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb explosions case, and some of the accused in the murder case of music baron Gulshan Kumar.

Reports said special judge M. L. Tahiliyani informed Kasab that the appointment of legal aid panel lawyer Anjali Waghmare had been revoked. Kasab reportedly said he had written to the Pakistani authorities seeking a lawyer.

Kasab had sought a special court`s permission to approach Pakistani authorities to appoint a lawyer from there to defend him.

`Ek aur try kar sakte hain (We can give it one more try),` Kasab was said to have asked, when informed by the court that it was unlikely that a Pakistani lawyer would be appointed for him by the Pakistan government.