PM says let law take its own course

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday chose to play it safe on the controversy regarding delay in hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, only stating that “law of the land” should be allowed to take its course.

“There is law of the land and legal processes should be allowed to have their course,” the prime minister replied when asked if the government’s failure to decide on Afzal Guru’s mercy petition pointed to India being a soft State.

Dismissing any suggestion that the government was soft on terrorists, he said perceptions could always vary on whether a State was soft or hard. “It is a perception that can vary even among individuals,” he pointed out.

It has been almost four years since Afzal Guru’s mercy petition is pending with Union home ministry, after it was forwarded by the President for MHA’s opinion. Though the MHA had sent the file to the Delhi government in 2006 itself for its comments, and followed up with 16 subsequent reminders, it was only last week that the Sheila Dikshit government gave its views on the matter and forwarded the file to Delhi LG Tejinder Khanna.

Afzal Guru was awarded death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002, after being convicted on counts of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.

The death sentence was upheld by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 and his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court two years later on August 4, 2005.

A sessions court also fixed the date of his hanging on October 20, 2006 in Tihar jail. Following this, Afzal filed a mercy petition with the President.