Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 22: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Delhi-NCT, seeking its response after hearing a curative plea filed by convicted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arif, also known as Ashfaq. The plea challenges the dismissal of his earlier review petition against the death penalty awarded for his role in the 2000 Red Fort attack, which claimed the lives of three Army personnel.

A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Vikram Nath and J.K. Maheshwari, directed Delhi-NCT to provide detailed responses. “Issue notice,” the top court asserted.

Ashfaq’s curative plea follows multiple rejections: his review petition was dismissed in November 2022 by a Bench led by then CJI U.U. Lalit, which described the attack as a “direct assault on the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of India.” Earlier, both his review and curative pleas had been turned down by the apex court.

The convict was found guilty by the trial court for his involvement in the Red Fort attack on the 17th-century monument, and sentenced to death. The Delhi High Court upheld the sentence in 2007, and the Supreme Court reaffirmed it in 2011.