With an eye on the looming general election, a large chunk of the Congress and the government want to delay taking a final call on carrying out the death sentence of Afzal Guru, convicted for his role in the December 13, 2001 attack on India’s Parliament. Sources said a section of the Congress feels that “its votebank, particularly among minorities, might be disturbed if the death sentence is carried before the polls.”
This section of the party also feels that depending on circumstances, the Lok Sabha polls could possibly be held this year, ahead of schedule. At this juncture, both the Congress and the Samjawadi Party are reportedly confident of their support among minority voters, the sources said.
When asked about developments on Afzal Guru’s mercy petition, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said: “I had to devote a considerable amount of time to the rape incident. I’ll take a decision... I’ll have to go into details. When the President has sent it again, I have to go deep into the case.” Afzal’s file has been shuttling between the President’s Secretariat and the home ministry since the tenure of former President Pratibhaa Patel.
Afzal Guru was convicted of conspiracy in the attack on Parliament, in which nine people were killed. In December 2002, he was sentenced to death by a Delhi court, which was confirmed by the Delhi high court in October 2003. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2005. While the sentence was due to be carried out on October 20, 2006, it was put off after his wife filed a mercy petition.
On June 3, 2010, the Delhi government sent its comments on Afzal’s mercy plea to the MHA after a dozen reminders were sent to it. The Delhi government also recommended that the mercy plea be rejected. It was only on July 27, 2011 that the home ministry sent Afzal’s file to then President Pratibha Patil for a final decision. The MHA recommended that the mercy petition filed on behalf of Afzal Guru be rejected.
The case remained pending with the President’s office till the end of Ms Patil’s tenure at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and was returned by President Pranab Mukherjee in November 2012. Mr Mukherjee wanted the new home minister, Mr Shinde, to study the case afresh and give his opinion. Mr Shinde had promised to apply his mind and give his recommendation swiftly. Afzal’s name is sixth on a list of 11 mercy petitions pending with the government.
In recent terror cases, the government has so far rejected the mercy pleas of Devinder Singh Bhullar and the three persons involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Incidentally, both convicts had approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision, saying there was undue delay over their mercy pleas. The latest case where the President rejected a terrorist’s mercy plea was that of 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab, who was hanged to death on November 21, 2012 four years after his crime.
It now remains to be seen if the MHA will change its recommendation on the Afzal case. Even if Mr Shinde sends the file back to the President, Mr Mukherjee is not bound by any time limit on taking a decision. Apart from the reported votebank politics, some Congress allies like the National Conference and the Samajwadi Party do not want Afzal to be executed. While the SP is vague on the issue, the NC has indicated it feels the convict “did not get a fair trial”.