New Delhi: Home Ministry is yet to submit
its report on Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru,
currently on death row, to the President.
Briefing reporters about the number of mercy petitions
currently with his ministry, Home Minister P Chidambaram today
said there are total 31 cases, out of which 19 have been
resubmitted with decision on 11 cases in the last 30 months.
"In the two-and-half years that I have been in the
office, we have resubmitted 19 cases and 11 have been decided.
I am expecting decision on remaining eight.
"So records speak for itself. The case of Afzal Guru
is not required to be resubmitted, it is a case required to be
submitted. It will be submitted as soon as we reach there
which is not far away," the Home Minister said.
Guru was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001
attack on the Indian Parliament and was sentenced to death by
the Supreme Court of India in 2004. The sentence was scheduled
to be carried out on 20 October 2006. Afzal was given a stay
of execution following a mercy petition filed by his wife and
he remains on death row.
The Home Minister also noted that while between 1998-
2004, 14 cases were sent to the President and no case was
decided, during May 22 2004 to November 13 2008, when his
predecessor was in office, he resubmitted the 14 cases and
submitted 14 fresh cases. "28 cases were submitted and two
were decided," he said.
Asked about the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi, he said that "case has been submitted according to the
serial order...in date of the conviction and date of the mercy
petition. According to that it has been submitted."
On whether there was any time frame under which these
petitions can be decided, he said, "I cannot give a time
frame. My duty is to resubmit cases and it is for the
President to take a decision. Neither you nor I should comment
on that."
PTI
