Parliament attack : SC dismisses appeal

The Supreme Court dismisses the petition filed by Parliament attack case convict Shaukat Hussain Guru challenging his ten years imprisonment, reports Satya Prakash.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition of a Parliament attack case convict Shaukat Hussain Guru who had sought to reopen the issue after dismissal of his appeal, review and curative petitions.

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A Bench headed by Justice P.P. Naolekar said, “It is a settled law now that judgment of this court cannot be assailed invoking Article 32 of the Constitution.”

Article 32 provides a mechanism for enforcement of fundamental rights and under this provision one can directly approach the Supreme Court.

Citing a Constitution bench judgment in Rupa Ashok Hurra case of 2002, the court said “a final judgment/order passed by this court cannot be assailed in an application under Article 32 of the Constitution…by an aggrieved person, whether he was a party to the case or not.”

It was in Rupa Hura’s case that the court devised the mechanism of curative petition, which can be filed after dismissal of a review petition, to meet the needs of substantive justice.

A special court on December 16, 2002 awarded death sentence to Shaukat and the Delhi High Court confirmed it. However, in August 4, 2005, the Supreme Court quashed all the 12 charges against Shoukat but convicted him to 10 years imprisonment under Section 123 IPC. Co-convict Afzal Guru, given death penalty, is awaiting decision on his mercy plea by the President.

Nine persons were killed by five heavily armed terrorists who attacked Parliament on December 13, 2001. Security forces gunned them all down.

Shaukat is currently undergoing a

10-year sentence, after dismissal of his curative petition — the last judicial remedy available to a convict — was dismissed in January 2007 and the conviction attained finality.