When Kasab moved the apex court challenging his conviction and death penalty for 26/11, he had no one to defend him. The court appointed Ramachandran and Agrawal as amicus curiae to protect the principle of natural justice by making provision for Kasab’s defence.

Both the advocates, a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad noted, did their best in researching case law and preparing Kasab’s elaborate defence, which focused on his young age, his not being the mastermind of the carnage and his not being responsible for the murders at landmark hotels. The court rejected the arguments and upheld death penalty to Kasab.

On Wednesday, the bench appreciated the “high professional ethics” displayed by the two lawyers in moving an application seeking to donate their fees — Rs 11 lakh for Ramachandran and Rs 3.5 lakh for Agrawal — to the Supreme Court Legal Aid Services Authority. The bench decided to put the donation to a fitting use by asking the Maharashtra government to proportionately distribute the amount among families of 18 Mumbai policemen and securitymen who died in the attacks.