2000 Red Fort attack: SC notice on LeT terrorist’s plea against death penalty

A group of terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba had entered the Red Fort on December 22, 2000 and shot dead three army soldiers

The Supreme Court on Thursday the Delhi government’s response on a curative petition filed by the 2000 Red Fort attack convict Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arif challenging his death sentence which was upheld twice in the past by the top court.

A Delhi court had held Arif guilty of waging war against the country and sentenced him to death on October 31, 2005. (File photo)

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant along with justices Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari issued notice on the plea argued by advocate Payoshi Roy.

A group of terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba had entered the Red Fort on December 22, 2000 and shot dead three army soldiers.

The Delhi Police which probed the case had relied upon the call detail record (CDR) of a number found on a chit outside Red Fort a day after the shootout which led to Arif, a Pakistani national who was alleged to have entered India illegally.

Roy told the court that Arif’s review petition was dismissed by a three-judge bench of the top court on November 3, 2022. Earlier, a two-judge bench had in August 2011 upheld the death sentence awarded by the Delhi high court.

In January 2016, the top court allowed his request for filing a fresh review petition where he was permitted to raise all additional grounds, as legally permissible to him, in support of his review petition.

While dismissing his review plea, the top court dismissed his arguments questioning the validity of the evidence against him as he alleged that the certification of electronic evidence as per the Indian Evidence Act was not obtained. He had further submitted that cross-examination of the necessary witnesses did not take place.

Arif claimed that the electronic evidence was the sole link to connect him with the incident and responsible officers had to vouchsafe the credibility of the CDR data obtained by police. He further argued that his statement was recorded by police under coercion and the recovery of weapons could not be linked to him.

A Delhi court had held Arif guilty of waging war against the country and sentenced him to death on October 31, 2005. This came to be upheld by the high court in September 2007 and all courts up to the top court upheld his death sentence.

The high court came to the conclusion that it was in a systematic manner that the appellant came to India illegally and collected highly sophisticated arms and ammunition meant for mass destruction. It held that the convicts chose Red Fort for being a place of national importance and chose to attack the army camp stationed there to protect this monument.

The use of sophisticated arms like AK-47 and AK-56 rifles and hand grenades convinced the high court and Supreme Court about the conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India.

While dismissing the review petition, the top court said, “All three courts have recorded elaborate reasons for why the present case was one which warranted the death sentence, and have considered the crime, the criminal and whether the case could be said to be the rarest of the rare.”

The court even dismissed the possibility of reformation considering the gravity of crime.