The Hindu : National : Red Fort attack: judge defers sentence till tomorrow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 30, 2005

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National

Red Fort attack: judge defers sentence till tomorrow

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Saturday deferred sentencing those accused in the Red Fort attack case to Monday.

Additional Sessions Judge O.P. Saini announced the deferment at 4 p.m. saying, "I have not been able to write the judgment due to a power breakdown, volume of the job, and shortage of staff."

Earlier, counsel for Pakistani national and member of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, Asfaq Ahmed alias Arif, submitted that his client should not be awarded capital punishment as it was "not a rarest of rare" case.

By sentencing him to death, the court would be making him a martyr in the neighbouring country, Aman Lekhi submitted. However, public prosecutor Bakshi Singh submitted that the accused should be awarded the severest of punishment as he, along with two of his co-accused, Nazir Quasid and Farooq Quasid had been convicted under Sections 121 (waging war against the Government of India) and 120-B (conspiracy).

The court had earlier on Monday held Asfaq Ahmed, his Indian origin wife RehmanaYusuf Farooqui and five others guilty in the case in which three Army personnel were killed on December 22, 2000.

Asfaq Ahmed, Nazir Quasid and Farooq Quasid (father and son) were held guilty under Sections 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the Government of India) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) while Rehmana Yusuf Farooqui, Babar Mohsin and Sadaquat Ali were held guilty under Sections 216 (harbouring an offender who has escaped from custody, or whose apprehension has been ordered, if the offence be capital) and 118 (concealing a design to commit an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, if the offence be committed) and Matloob Alam under Section 420 (cheating) of IPC. Asfaq Ahmed was also held guilty under Section 302 (murder) of IPC.

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