New Delhi, April 11 -- During a bond hearing in a Chicago court in December 2009, Tahawwur Hussain Rana's attorney Patrick Blegen portrayed his client as someone who was "duped" by David Coleman Headley, one of the key plotters of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

In fact, Blegen had even invoked Pakistan's poet laureate Allama Iqbal to establish the "non-violent and decent" character of Rana. Three character witnesses were presented to the court of magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in US District Court in support of Blegen's contention.

Belgen's argument was that the image of Rana as presented by the US government was "inconsistent" with his client's faith in Iqbal's teachings. At one point, as those present in the court wondere...