New Delhi: The hanging of Mohammed Afzal, who was convicted for his role in the 2001 attack on the Parliament, has been put off until a decision on a mercy petition filed by his wife, an official said on Thursday.
Afzal, sentenced to death for his role in the attack, was due to be hanged at 0600 hrs, IST on Friday.
"Since his petition is pending before President A P J Abdul Kalam, the hanging will not take place tomorrow," Home ministry spokesman Onkarmal Kedia told Reuters.
Under law, the President can pardon people sentenced to die, but in the past, not many mercy petitions have been granted.
Kashmiri leaders have said the execution would fuel a Muslim separatist revolt.
There have been several protests in Kashmir against the execution and the issue has been debated by political parties and media.
Earlier, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah told CNN-IBN that India will "go up in flames" if Afzal was hung.
Separately, Afzal's lawyers said they will approach the Supreme Court in a final attempt to prevent the execution, arguing his conviction was flawed.
"We will argue that he can not be hung merely on the grounds that his execution will satisfy the collective conscience of the nation," Nandita Haksar said.
The five gunmen who stormed Parliament were all shot dead, while ten other people died in the siege.
Afzal to file curative petition in SC
Mohammed Afzal will file a curative petition before the Supreme Court for a review of the death sentence.
"We want to exhaust all legal remedies available to him before approaching the President," sources close to him said. The petition is likely to be filed after the Diwali break.
PAGE_BREAK
The curative petition will seek a re-look of the apex court's August 4, 2005, judgement, upholding the death penalty imposed on Afzal burt. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
After approaching the apex court, he may file a mercy plea before the President seeking commutation of his death sentence. His family had earlier this month filed a similar petition before the President.
The Home Ministry has already initiated a process of legal consultation to form its opinion on the mercy plea, forwarded to it for scrutiny by the Rashtrapati Bhawan earlier in October.
According to legal provisions, a convict facing capital punishment cannot be hanged till the pendency of his or her clemency petition.
In view of this, Tihar jail authorities have also put on hold the arrangements they were making for hanging the former JKLF member on Friday.
The apex court order giving death sentence to Afzal for his involvement in the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament evoked mixed reaction in Jammu and Kashmir with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad urging the Centre for commutation of his death sentence.
Comments
0 comment