news details |
|
|
| SC ruling has direct bearing on Afzal Guru's case | | editorial | |
The latest ruling by the Supreme Court that the power vested with the
President or Governors of the States to grant pardon to a convict or
reduce the sentence imposed on him were subject to judicial review, if
there was an extraneous consideration in exercise of that power, will
have direct bearing on the case of Afzal Guru convicted in the
Parliament House attack and sentenced to death and the mercy petition
for clemency to whom, submitted by his family to the President of
India is pending disposal. Although it is not for the first time that
the Supreme Court has reviewed the constitutional power of the
executive to grant pardon or remission of sentence, but the setting
aside of the remission of sentence granted by former Andhra Pradesh
Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde to a Congress man convicted in a murder
case comes at a particularly crucial movement with the country in the
midst of a heart debate over the clemency plea of Mohammad Afzal
sentence to death in the December 13, 1999 Parliament attack case, the
court's intervention can prove highly helpful in the matter. The
Supreme Court has observated that clemency can not be an act of will
driven by the politically expedient or momentary consideration and
that the power to pardon must stand up to the test of the larger
welfare. It must not be swayed by undue consideration of caste,
political, loyalty, religion or other consideration. This will
naturally be a guiding line for the President as well as the
government in taking a decision in the case of implementation of the
death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru. The Court has also observed that
clemency is not for the benefit of the court and President and
Governor have to keep its effect on the family of victim and the
society as a whole, when applied to the case of Mohammad Afzal, this
seals his fate. The family members of the victim security personnel in
the Parliament House attack have already submitted a memorandum to the
President opposing any reprieve to Afzal Guru. A pressure has been
mounted on the President as well as the government of India mainly by
the separatists and the friends of terrorists against execution of
Afzal. Some leaders of mainstream parties and so called human rights
activists and perverted intellectuals have joined the band wagon of
the advocates of clemency to Afzal. However Afzal himself has neither
prayed for clemency nor expressed any regret for his action. Hence
there are no sound grounds for the President to accept the plea for
granting pardon or remission of the sentence to Guru. Compared to the
case of murder committed by the convict in Andhra Pradesh, whose
remission of sentence by the then State Governor has been set aside by
the Supreme Court, the crime committed by Afzal Guru is more serious
having much wider ramifications. He attacked the highest seat of
democracy in the country, thus launched an open war on the State,
besides the attack leading to the killing of few security personnel.
The President who will be obviously guided by the present Apex Court
ruling, is hardly expected to grant clemency to Afzal Guru, taking in
view that any such action on his part besides having far reaching
consequences, will be subject to review by the Supreme Court.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
