Supreme Court affirms death to LeT ultra for Red Fort attack
New Delhi, November 3
The Supreme Court today affirmed the death penalty awarded to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist and Pakistani national Mohammad Arif, alias Ashfaq, as it rejected his petition seeking review of its verdict awarding death penalty to him in the December 2000 Red Fort attack case that had claimed the lives of three Army men. “We do not find any merit in the instant review petitions, which are accordingly dismissed,” said a Bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi.
3 of Army were killed
- The attack in December 2000 had left three Army personnel dead
- A Pakistani national, Arif was among three intruders involved in the attack
- A Delhi court awarded him death penalty on Oct 31, 2005
Arif was among the intruders who had entered on the night of December 22, 2000, the area where the unit of 7 Rajputana Rifles of the Army was stationed inside the Red Fort, New Delhi.
On October 31, 2005, a Delhi sessions court awarded death penalty, which was confirmed by the Delhi High Court on September 13, 2007. The Supreme Court had rejected his appeal on August 10, 2011. His curative petition was also dismissed on January 23, 2014, but his review petition had to be heard afresh due to some technical issues arising out of a Constitution Bench verdict on the issue of death penalty. The Bench said, “There is nothing on record which can be taken as mitigating circumstances in his favour.
