Afzal Ugliness - Easy Way Out
When the Parliament of India was attacked on 13 December 2001, it was not just an attack on a building, it was an attack on the very seat of democracy.
And not just that. Twenty-two human lives, including that of the security men were lost in the attack. In short, they were the ones who prevented a blood bath inside the parliament. Any society worth its salt, regardless of how laid back the attitude is, will ensure that the killers and those aided them are brought to justice. It is not often that justice gets delivered on time in India. It is a common knowledge across the nation that the backlog of court cases runs into thousands. Even in cases like 1993 Mumbai Blasts, it took 13 long years for the legal system to take the case to its logical conclusion.
It is a wonder when a Delhi Court heard the case on a daily basis and awarded the judgement exactly one year and five days (Dec 18, 2002) after the Parliament was attacked. The jist of the judgement delivered by the Delhi Court was that three persons were awarded death sentence in the case. The appeal process followed up in the Delhi High Court and less than a year later (October 2003), one among the three who were awarded the death sentence were acquitted and the other two were destined to face the gallows. When the two persons appealed against the Delhi HC verdict at Supreme Court, SC in August 2005 confirmed the death of one Afzal Guru and reduced the death sentence of the other person to life time imprisonment. Thus, with in a matter of four years, the case went through three rounds of judicial scrutiny and every judge who had heard the case didn't have any doubt about the role played by Mohammed Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack and the death sentence awarded to him.
Just when one thought that the wheels of justice had started moving faster, at least in this case, certain elements are out to derail it completely. When the court fixed Oct 20, 2006 as the date for hanging Mohammed Afzal Guru, all hell broke loose. First, there were heavy protests against the judgement in the Kashmir Valley - from where Mohammed Afzal Guru hails. The protestors 'demanded' that Afzal be pardoned. It is worth noting that the man who was facing the gallows was not interested in seeking clemency from the President as he has lost his confidence on the system. The protests were turned so violent in Kashmir that it lasted several days and that is when our holy politicians started to intervene.
Farooq Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and currently a member of Rajya Sabha, was the first one to stoke the fire. He wholeheartedly threw his weight behind the demands for clemency and announced that he would personally meet the President of India to respect the sentiments of Kashmiris and request him to pardon Mohammed Afzal Guru. Farooq was the one who said that India would be on flames, if Afzal was to be hanged. Inspired by the reception that Farooq received for his statement, all politicians who matter started demanding clemency for Afzal Guru.
To top it all, Ghulam Nabi Azad - the Chief Minister of J&K from the Congress Party, apparently 'spoke' to the Prime Minister about the case and requested him to do the needful. His view is that Afzal's hanging would scuttle the peace process between India and Pakistan, that is currently underway. Holy crap! All the political parties in J&K thus united to save Afzal from the noose. It may not be the first time when politicians battle for a criminal, but, as far as this writer is aware, this is the first time, a person who has taken the oath as Chief Minister under the Indian Constitution is openly backing a killer who in legal terms waged a war against India. Vote bank politics based on religion is making the politicians stoop down to unimaginable levels. Funnily enough, Congress Party conveniently brushed that aside as a conversation between the State Government and the Central Government.
The action didn't end at Kashmir alone. Human rights activists, who are conspicious by their absence during the terror attacks that happen every now and then, suddenly sprung up from no where and demanded that Afzal be pardoned. Leading the pack was the Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, who says that she strongly disagrees with the judgement. This writer wonders how many of the protestors had actually read the judgement in full and which part of the judgement they disagree with. In the mean time, the family of the Mohammed Afzal Guru met the President and submitted the clemency petition on his behalf. In a bid to whip up emotions, the protestors made the seven year old son of Afzal Guru to sit in the protest demonstrations and said that at least for the boy, the father should be pardoned. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Pakistan Government says that they are closely watching the situation.
If we look at the reason for demands for clemency, they provide a good variety. While the Kashmir protestors feel that Afzal had done nothing wrong, his family feels that he hasn't been given a fair trial. The likes of Yaseen Malik, who hops from studio to studio in the national capital dishing out sound bytes, opine that the situation in the ground will change for the worse if Afzal is hanged, as if the valley is now a paradise on earth, true to its name. None of the above are bothered about the fact that Mohammed Afzal Guru is one of the prime accused in the Parliament attack. None of these persons are bothered that his actions directly contributed to the death of so many people. None of these people care that Mohamed Afzal Guru and his cohorts brought the country closer to war with Pakistan. All they want is to have Afzal pardoned because - he has got a son, who has got dreams - the Muslim sentiments would be hurt and every possible crap.
Away from the limelight are the families of the police men/women who lost their lives foiling the design of the terrorists on that fateful day. They have appealed to the President not to grant clemency to Afzal. Further, they have said that if Afzal is pardoned, the families will return the medals of bravery presented to their slain kin. Following the due legal process, President has forwarded the clemency petition to the Union Home Ministry, who will examine the petition and pass on its recommendation to the Cabinet, which would then advice the President. However, the President of India is not bound to act by the advice of the cabinet on this clemency issue. So, the final decision on Mohammed Afzal Guru, rests with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which gives some hope of a sensible decision being taken at the highest level. However, there is a catch here. Neither the Home Ministry, nor the Cabinet has got any deadline to take a decision or make a recommendation. The Home Ministry and /or the Cabinet are well within their rights to sit over the petition indefinitely and duck the whole issue. This will be an easy way out for all those in the position of taking a decision as on one hand they can claim that they did not ride over the Court's judgement and on the other hand, they will have their Muslim vote bank intact.
India has already paid and still paying a very heavy price by being soft on terrorism and their sponsors. Had Vishwanath Pratap Singh government been strong enough to say NO to the demands of the terrorists during the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnap case in 1989, Kashmir might not have become a flashpoint, as it is now. This time around, the demands are from our own people to pardon Afzal Guru. It is true that in any problem, bigger picture must be considered. But, this is an open and shut case, which has been examined by the judiciary not once, but thrice. There shouldn't be any hesitation in rejecting the clemency petition submitted on behalf of Mohammed Afzal Guru and put to rest the ugliness, for once.
The Government's sincerity and intention have been put to test on this issue. If Manmohan Singh government succumbs to Kashmiri vote bank politics and grants clemency, the entire nation would soon become a laughing stock. Worse still, in a few years' time, Mohamed Afzal Guru himself will come out and laugh at the Government. Remember, in India, life sentence is just fourteen years.
And not just that. Twenty-two human lives, including that of the security men were lost in the attack. In short, they were the ones who prevented a blood bath inside the parliament. Any society worth its salt, regardless of how laid back the attitude is, will ensure that the killers and those aided them are brought to justice. It is not often that justice gets delivered on time in India. It is a common knowledge across the nation that the backlog of court cases runs into thousands. Even in cases like 1993 Mumbai Blasts, it took 13 long years for the legal system to take the case to its logical conclusion.
It is a wonder when a Delhi Court heard the case on a daily basis and awarded the judgement exactly one year and five days (Dec 18, 2002) after the Parliament was attacked. The jist of the judgement delivered by the Delhi Court was that three persons were awarded death sentence in the case. The appeal process followed up in the Delhi High Court and less than a year later (October 2003), one among the three who were awarded the death sentence were acquitted and the other two were destined to face the gallows. When the two persons appealed against the Delhi HC verdict at Supreme Court, SC in August 2005 confirmed the death of one Afzal Guru and reduced the death sentence of the other person to life time imprisonment. Thus, with in a matter of four years, the case went through three rounds of judicial scrutiny and every judge who had heard the case didn't have any doubt about the role played by Mohammed Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack and the death sentence awarded to him.
Just when one thought that the wheels of justice had started moving faster, at least in this case, certain elements are out to derail it completely. When the court fixed Oct 20, 2006 as the date for hanging Mohammed Afzal Guru, all hell broke loose. First, there were heavy protests against the judgement in the Kashmir Valley - from where Mohammed Afzal Guru hails. The protestors 'demanded' that Afzal be pardoned. It is worth noting that the man who was facing the gallows was not interested in seeking clemency from the President as he has lost his confidence on the system. The protests were turned so violent in Kashmir that it lasted several days and that is when our holy politicians started to intervene.
Farooq Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and currently a member of Rajya Sabha, was the first one to stoke the fire. He wholeheartedly threw his weight behind the demands for clemency and announced that he would personally meet the President of India to respect the sentiments of Kashmiris and request him to pardon Mohammed Afzal Guru. Farooq was the one who said that India would be on flames, if Afzal was to be hanged. Inspired by the reception that Farooq received for his statement, all politicians who matter started demanding clemency for Afzal Guru.
To top it all, Ghulam Nabi Azad - the Chief Minister of J&K from the Congress Party, apparently 'spoke' to the Prime Minister about the case and requested him to do the needful. His view is that Afzal's hanging would scuttle the peace process between India and Pakistan, that is currently underway. Holy crap! All the political parties in J&K thus united to save Afzal from the noose. It may not be the first time when politicians battle for a criminal, but, as far as this writer is aware, this is the first time, a person who has taken the oath as Chief Minister under the Indian Constitution is openly backing a killer who in legal terms waged a war against India. Vote bank politics based on religion is making the politicians stoop down to unimaginable levels. Funnily enough, Congress Party conveniently brushed that aside as a conversation between the State Government and the Central Government.
The action didn't end at Kashmir alone. Human rights activists, who are conspicious by their absence during the terror attacks that happen every now and then, suddenly sprung up from no where and demanded that Afzal be pardoned. Leading the pack was the Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, who says that she strongly disagrees with the judgement. This writer wonders how many of the protestors had actually read the judgement in full and which part of the judgement they disagree with. In the mean time, the family of the Mohammed Afzal Guru met the President and submitted the clemency petition on his behalf. In a bid to whip up emotions, the protestors made the seven year old son of Afzal Guru to sit in the protest demonstrations and said that at least for the boy, the father should be pardoned. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Pakistan Government says that they are closely watching the situation.
If we look at the reason for demands for clemency, they provide a good variety. While the Kashmir protestors feel that Afzal had done nothing wrong, his family feels that he hasn't been given a fair trial. The likes of Yaseen Malik, who hops from studio to studio in the national capital dishing out sound bytes, opine that the situation in the ground will change for the worse if Afzal is hanged, as if the valley is now a paradise on earth, true to its name. None of the above are bothered about the fact that Mohammed Afzal Guru is one of the prime accused in the Parliament attack. None of these persons are bothered that his actions directly contributed to the death of so many people. None of these people care that Mohamed Afzal Guru and his cohorts brought the country closer to war with Pakistan. All they want is to have Afzal pardoned because - he has got a son, who has got dreams - the Muslim sentiments would be hurt and every possible crap.
Away from the limelight are the families of the police men/women who lost their lives foiling the design of the terrorists on that fateful day. They have appealed to the President not to grant clemency to Afzal. Further, they have said that if Afzal is pardoned, the families will return the medals of bravery presented to their slain kin. Following the due legal process, President has forwarded the clemency petition to the Union Home Ministry, who will examine the petition and pass on its recommendation to the Cabinet, which would then advice the President. However, the President of India is not bound to act by the advice of the cabinet on this clemency issue. So, the final decision on Mohammed Afzal Guru, rests with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which gives some hope of a sensible decision being taken at the highest level. However, there is a catch here. Neither the Home Ministry, nor the Cabinet has got any deadline to take a decision or make a recommendation. The Home Ministry and /or the Cabinet are well within their rights to sit over the petition indefinitely and duck the whole issue. This will be an easy way out for all those in the position of taking a decision as on one hand they can claim that they did not ride over the Court's judgement and on the other hand, they will have their Muslim vote bank intact.
India has already paid and still paying a very heavy price by being soft on terrorism and their sponsors. Had Vishwanath Pratap Singh government been strong enough to say NO to the demands of the terrorists during the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnap case in 1989, Kashmir might not have become a flashpoint, as it is now. This time around, the demands are from our own people to pardon Afzal Guru. It is true that in any problem, bigger picture must be considered. But, this is an open and shut case, which has been examined by the judiciary not once, but thrice. There shouldn't be any hesitation in rejecting the clemency petition submitted on behalf of Mohammed Afzal Guru and put to rest the ugliness, for once.
The Government's sincerity and intention have been put to test on this issue. If Manmohan Singh government succumbs to Kashmiri vote bank politics and grants clemency, the entire nation would soon become a laughing stock. Worse still, in a few years' time, Mohamed Afzal Guru himself will come out and laugh at the Government. Remember, in India, life sentence is just fourteen years.
posted by Indian Voter at 9:33:00 PM
3 Comments:
i recently read a post exactly opposite to your view: Madipakkam
It made my blood boil. Even hardcore terrorists like Afzal has some sympathisers!
Gallows for Afzal - Collective Conscience or Ignorance:
In the sensational 13 Dec 2001, Parliament of India attack case, the issue of death sentence for Mohammed Afzal Guru should be analyzed within the boundaries of the existing law and not on the basis of so called collective conscience.
The evidence of conspiracy against Afzal stands on his own testimony- he confessed that he brought one of the 5 men involved in the attack from Srinagar to Delhi and helped him buy a used car and on the recovery of explosives from his house, and most crucially, on records of cellphone calls to the five. But the evidence is open to doubt. The explosives recovery record is not watertight. The police couldn't explain why they broke into his house during his absence while he was in jail - when the landlord had the key.
The cellphone record traced several calls from the five men to number 98114-89429. The police allegedly impounded the instrument from Afzal while arresting him in Srinagar. The instrument had no SIM card. So the only identity mark was its IMEI number, unique to each instrument.
There are only two ways to find this tell-tale number: open the instrument, or dial a code and have the number displayed. But the officer who wrote the recovery memo said on oath that he neither opened nor operated the instrument. Besides, the testimonies regarding the date of purchase of the phone with a new SIM card ( December 4, 2001 ) and its first recorded operation ( November 6, 2001 ) don't match. The benefit of doubt heavily weighs in favor of Afzal.
Afzal's conviction and sentencing violates cardinal principles of natural justice on the following 3 grounds:
Firstly, the charge-sheet was against 12 persons. The masterminds were Azhar, Tariq Ahmed and Ghazi Baba. It is significant to note that they are Pakistanis. They have neither been arrested nor have they been tried. If Pakistan extradites them, then they shall escape the gallows. The Parliament was attacked de facto by 5 Pakistanis. They were responsible for the death of 9 members of the security forces. Afzal did not cause anyone's death, he did not injure anyone. He did not mastermind the attack. The Apex court of India has observed that there is no direct evidence of his involvement.
Secondly, all the courts, including the Apex Court have acquitted him of the charges under Prevention of Terrorism Act ( POTA ) of belonging to any terrorist organisation.
Thirdly, Afzal was denied a fair trial. The investigation was illegal. The courts noted that evidence was fabricated and he never had a lawyer who represented him. The Judge passed an order giving Afzal the right to cross-examine witnesses but it is a herculean task, even for a person with legal training but devoid of knowledge of criminal law. The provisions of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights ( ICCPR ) have been grossly disregarded.
The Apex Court has held that, "the incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, had shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender."
Collective conscience of a society whose members are probably unaware of the fact that Afzal a former Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front ( JKLF ) man had surrendered and convinced others also to surrender.
Collective conscience of a society, some of whose members allegedly attacked Senior Advocate Ram Jethmalani's office when he offered to defend Afzal. Its a pity that Afzal did not have the benefit of ace defence counsel Ram Jethmalani who would have torn the prosecution case apart and made the difference between life and death for Afzal.
Collective conscience of a society, more than half of whose members, still do not know that Afzal is acquitted of all charges under the POTA.
Collective conscience of a society which is still unaware of the fact that the dependents of victims of the attack have not yet been rehabilitated properly.
Which ever way you look at it, its not collective conscience but collective ignorance.
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