By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday once again slammed the government for its failure to expedite the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
“There is no statutory backing to this logic. His (Afzal Guru) hanging should be expedited. The Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court decided to hang him but the two chief secretaries of the Delhi government couldn’t finish deciding,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
His comment came after reports that the file relating to the mercy petition of Afzal Guru was sent to the union home ministry by the Delhi government four years after its opinion was sought by the central government.
“BJP has criticised the delay several times… Gravity of the issue certainly demands expediting his hanging and not delaying it further,” he added.
It was after four years and 16 reminders from the union home ministry that the Delhi government sent the file to the lieutenant governor’s office for him to take a call on the matter. The lieutenant governor has forwarded the file to the union home ministry.
Afzal Guru was given death penalty by a Delhi court Dec 18, 2002 after holding him guilty of conspiring to attack parliament Dec 13, 2001, and waging war against the country.
The Supreme Court rejected Aug 4, 2005 Guru’s appeal against the death sentence, which was upheld by the Delhi High Court Oct 29, 2003.
A sessions court set the date of his hanging Oct 20, 2006 in Tihar Jail but his wife Tabassum filed a mercy petition before the president, delaying his execution.
According to the laid down procedure, the president sought the home ministry’s views on the mercy petition and the home ministry, in turn, sought the Delhi government’s comments.