Home Ministry submits Afzal Guru case to President

NEW DELHI: Taking a step forward for a final view on the fate of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Home Ministry has submitted his case to the President's Secretariat for a decision.

"The mercy petition case of death convict Mohd. Afzal Guru has since been submitted to the President's Secretariat on July 27, 2011 for a decision," Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran informed Rajya Sabha today.

He was responding to a question on why the government is not taking steps with regard to expediting the pending mercy petition of death row convict Guru.

Asked whether there is any provision under the Constitution for deciding upon any "clemency petition" against capital punishment as per sequence of its submission, the Minister said, "There is no Constitutional provision. It was an administrative decision to ensure fair and urgent treatment of all cases".

Guru was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on October 20, 2006.

However, Guru's execution was stayed following a mercy petition filed by his wife. He remains on death row.