KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, May 18: Delhi government has supported the death sentence for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
Backing the sentence, the Delhi government says there is a need to examine implications of law and order situation while carrying out the Supreme Court verdict.
Delhi government has been sitting on the file for nearly four years and capital punishment awarded to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab in the Mumbai attacks case brought the issue under fresh focus.
Guru was awarded death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
Death sentence was upheld by Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 and his appeal was rejected by Supreme Court two years later on August four, 2005.
A Sessions court also fixed the date of his hanging on October 20, 2006 in Tihar jail.
The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on October 20, 2006 but Afzal's wife Tabassum filed a mercy petition before the President.
Afzal's execution was stayed.
According to procedure, President sought the Home Ministry's views on the mercy petition and Home Ministry asked the Delhi government to give its views.
The matter had been hanging fire since then.
Afzal Guru is the face of one of the worst attacks in India's history.
On December 13, 2001, five terrorists attacked Indian Parliament.
Seven security officers were killed and Lashkar terrorists were gunned down.
Days later, the police arrested Mohammad Afzal alias Afzal Guru.
A resident of Sopore in Kashmir, he was charged with plotting the attack.
A year later, Afzal was found guilty and sentenced to death.
In the judgement at the time, the trial court judge had said, "The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will be satisfied if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender." Two other suspects arrested in the same case – Syed Abdul Rehman Gilani and Afsan Guru - were acquitted for lack of evidence by the High Court, but in the case of Afzal the High Court was convinced of the charges.
Earlier this morning, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that file on Afzal Guru's mercy petition has been sent to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"The letter goes from one department to the other.
Neither the ministry writes it nor do I receive it.
Moreover, that file has already gone," said the Delhi chief minister.
Home Ministry had reportedly pulled up Delhi government for not responding to a letter on Afzal Guru's mercy petition.
The ministry had written to the Delhi government on the mercy petition, which has been pending with the government since 2006.
Whether clemency should be granted to Afzal Guru, has been the subject of a volatile political debate.
Human rights groups say Afzal did not get a fair trial.
The announcement of the date of Afzal's hanging also led to large scale demonstrations in the Valley.
Even the Kashmir-based Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sought clemency for the man.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah spoke to a national channel on Afzal Guru's mercy plea.
Omar said, "Media should not hang a person before legal system decides, there are procedures to be followed on Afzal's hanging." Omar also said that there are many convicts on death row before Afzal.
On the other side of the divide is the BJP, which has repeatedly attacked the UPA government for delaying Afzal's hanging saying if Afzal is not hanged, India will be seen as a soft state.
Many believe that now with Kasab's death sentence, the government has been forced to act on Afzal Guru.
But this does not mean a decision will be taken on the mercy plea.
It has taken the government four years to take this stand, now one has to wait and see how long it takes to take a decision on the law and order aspect of the case.
