Sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case, Mohammad Afzal Guru wants a quick decision on his mercy petition, whatever the outcome. Fed up with “solitary confinement” and the “delay”, he has approached the Supreme Court with a plea saying “hang me quickly if I have to be hanged” and “if not, decide on that as well”.
In his plea, Guru has also said that if a decision is not being taken on his mercy petition, then he should be shifted to Jammu and Kashmir.
His counsel N D Pancholi told The Indian Express that Guru filed a plea in the Supreme Court in March through the legal department of the Tihar Jail. He first sent it on his own by post but it was returned and later sent through jail authorities. Pancholi said the matter has not yet been listed in the Supreme Court.
According to Pancholi, Guru described his confinement in Tihar Jail a violation of Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) and Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution.
“His punishment was death not solitary confinement. He himself sent the petition in which he said the delay is not helping him and a decision should be taken fast,” Pancholi said.
Guru has sought transfer to a jail in Jammu and Kashmir. “Since his conviction in 2002, he has been in Tihar Jail. Here, he cannot meet his family often. His family comes to meet him once a year but they have to spend Rs 5,000-6,000 every time they come. He says that if he is kept in a jail in J&K, then his family members can meet him often,” said Pancholi.
When contacted, Tihar Jail PRO Sunil Gupta first declined to comment, calling it a sensitive matter. He then said he would have to check the record first. But he confirmed Guru's application to MHA for a transfer. “I am aware of his transfer application but his petition to Supreme Court, I need to check”. But an official in Jail No. 3, where Guru is lodged, confirmed that the convict had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Guru has been writing to Tihar authorities for religious books. His friend in jail is Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, sentenced to death for the 1993 bombing of the Youth Congress office in New Delhi.
