If we can point to EVEN ONE case of Assam death-in-custody and fake
encounter deaths investigated, prosecuted and the guilty punished, we
may say, in keeping with our traditional overuse of
hyperbole--finally justice,!
Geelani's trial and acquittal, observed by the international media,
undertaken in a timely manner, is a freak, an exception.
Also, the widespread ( not something 'India-bashers' made up) lack of
faith in Indian justice system is NOT about FAIRNESS or INTELLECTUAL
abilities of individual jurists. It is about the entire system. To
make it appear otherwise and holding up isolated examples of fair and
timely justice proves nothing.
the SC probably went against public sentiment.
*** That is hardly a virtue to hold up as exemplary. It ought to be
the norm, the lowest acceptable standard. If that deserves a medal,
then it only tells us how bad the whole system is.
At 11:31 PM -0500 8/4/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
For those of us who have not faith in the Indian Courts and of
justice, here is some news that they may want to think twice.
The SC, while affirming the death sentence on one of the Jaish
terrorist, sets free another. The GOI lost the case against Prof.
Geelani, even though there was some strong evidence that he was
involved.
So, here is at least one case where everything didn't go the way GOI
wanted and more importantly the SC probably went against public
sentiment.
So, it isn't all doom & gloom on the Indian justice system:)
_______________________________________
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=75708
Friday, August 05, 2005
Front Page
SC OKs death for Dec 13
Parliament attack: Shaukat gets 10 yrs, Geelani free but under cloud
ANANTHAKRISHNAN G
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 4 The Supreme Court today put its stamp of approval
on the death sentence awarded to alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed militant
Mohammad Afzal by a designated POTA court for his role in the December
13, 2001 attack on Parliament. The court, however, relieved his
co-convict, Shaukat Hussain Guru, of the capital punishment and
instead sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for not
alerting the authorities about the conspiracy behind the attack
despite having prior knowledge.
The apex court also upheld the Delhi High Court order acquitting
University lecturer S A R Geelani and Shaukat's wife, Navjot Sandhu
alias Afsan Guru, of all charges in connection with the attack, which
had left nine policemen dead and 16 others injured.
The sheen over Geelani's acquittal was, however, lost in the court's
rather caustic observations on his conduct before and after the
incident, which it said gave rise to suspicions about his role in the
attack.
While the order is a setback to the Delhi Police Special Cell, which
had been steadfast on its charges against all the accused, the
comments about Geelani puts a question mark over the public perception
of his innocence.
On Afzal, a surrendered militant who could not resist the call of
terror, the bench of Justice P P Naolekar and Justice P V Reddi said
though there was no direct evidence of conspiracy, the circumstances
cumulatively pointed to his collusion. His actions, said the Court,
were definitely not innocuous but consistent with his involvement in
the conspiracy. Afzal must have had a nexus with the terrorists, who
were killed by the brave policemen during the attack, theCourt said,
adding that the attack on the citadel of democracy did not have any
parallel in the history of the Indian republic. His actions made him a
menace to society and the death sentence was the most appropriate for
him.
The case against Shaukat, also an alleged JeM militant and Afzal's
cousin, however failed to stand the Court's test and it absolved him
of all the charges levelled by the Special Cell. Though the HC upheld
the death sentence imposed on him by the trial court, the SC found
that there were ''several gaps'' in the evidence. One of these, it
said, was the lack of evidence to show that he was in touch with the
slain terrorists. On his conversation with Afzal, the Court said these
could best be termed as some talk between cousins.
However, his actions show that he was aware of the conspiracy to
attack Parliament. The ''illegal omission'' of not informing the
police should fetch him 10 years RI and a fine of Rs 25,000. Most
interesting were the observations against Geelani in today's judgment.
The soft-spoken lecturer, it said, had not hidden his joy over the
attack. The Court doubted Geelani's version about his links with Afzal
and Shaukat and said his ''conduct was not above board''.
Though all these raised suspicion , suspicion alone was not enough to
convict a person unless it was backed by legal evidence, the bench
added.
When asked about the observations, Geelani chose the easy way out,
saying he could comment only after seeing the order. If there was
anything like that, Geelani said, he would seek legal remedy. Geelani
also used the opportunity to harp on the struggle for ''liberating''
Kashmir, which he said was under ''occupation''.
Briefing reporters after the verdict, he said all problems would cease
once the Kashmir issue was resolved. However, he would not relate the
Parliament attack to this struggle and said the ''politicians of
India'' had linked the two.
On December 18, 2002, designated POTA Judge S N Dhingra had awarded
the death penalty to Shaukat, Afzal and Geelani while sentencing Afsan
to five years of imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court had upheld
the sentence imposed on Afzal and Shaukat, but acquitted Geelani and
Afsaan.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=75708
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