The Delhi High Court on Thursday has upheld Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arifs death sentence in connection with the December 2000 Red Fort attack case.
New Delhi, Sept. 13 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday has upheld Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arif's death sentence in connection with the December 2000 Red Fort attack case.
Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq had challenged his conviction and death sentence.
Arif was sentenced to death under Sections 302 and 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the Government) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, the court acquitted six other accused - Ashfaq's wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, Nazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasid, Bagar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alam.
"The Delhi High Court has upheld the death sentence to the Pakistani citizen Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq. The remaining six, out of which two are Kashmiris and rest Delhi youth have been acquitted," said Anil Agrawal, Public Prosecutor.
Asfaq lawyer said he would move an appeal in the Supreme Court against the verdict.
"Ashfaq is an innocent man till today. I have not read the judgement yet so I cannot comment on that. Asfaq is left with no option but to file an appeal in the Supreme Court," said Farooq Choudhry, Defence Lawyer.
Ashfaq's wife Farooqui was found guilty under Section 216 IPC (harbouring an offender) and 218 IPC (trying to save a person from punishment) for providing shelter to the LeT militant and has been given a seven-year jail term.
The prosecution was seeking to award her the maximum punishment of life for the offence.
Nazir Ahmed Qasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid were found guilty of waging war against the state along with Arif, and were awarded life imprisonment.
The Delhi Police was seeking enhancement of their life sentences to death.
Bagar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alam were each given seven-year prison terms.
The Delhi Police was also seeking to enhance their punishment to a life sentence.
A division bench, comprising Justices R S Sodhi and P K Bhasin, had on May 4 reserved its verdict on the plea filed by Ashfaq and six others.
The trial court had convicted the seven people while acquitting four others (Rajeev Kumar Malhotra, Devinder Singh, Moolchand Sharma and Shahanshah Alam) in the case on October 24.
Two security personnel and a civilian were killed when two LeT militants stormed the 17th century monument on December 22, 2000 and opened indiscriminate fire.
A large section of the historical fort was then an Army base camp, housing about 1,000 soldiers.
ANI