Sheila okays Afzal death

Four years after the Union home ministry sought the Delhi government’s views on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy petition, the file saw a sudden flurry of activity on Tuesday.

First, the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, forwarded the file to lieutenant-governor, Mr Tejendra Khanna, seeking his opinion, after reportedly writing that while her government agreed with the death penalty awarded to Afzal Guru, there was a need to consider the law and order angle if the sentence was carried out. It was learnt late on Tuesday evening that the lieutenant-governor’s office had returned the file to the Delhi government seeking more clarifications.

Earlier on Monday, Ms Dikshit had maintained she was unaware of any letter from the Union home ministry to the Delhi government on the matter.

But she told reporters on Tuesday: “File aage chali gayi hai (The file has been moved for further action).” Senior officials indicated late Monday that the home department had drafted its response to the Union home ministry’s letter. The death sentence for the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament was upheld by the Delhi High court on October 29, 2003, and Afzal’s appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court on August 4, 2005.