NEW DELHI:The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence of LeT terrorist Mohd Arif alias Ashfaq in the 2000 Red Fort attack and said the “arrogant” assault was a “brazen attempt” by Pakistan “to overawe” India and wage war against it. “It was a blatant, brazen faced and audacious act aimed to overawe the Government of India.
It was meant to show that the enemy could with impunity reach and destroy the very vitals of an institution so dear to our fellow countrymen for what it signified for them,” the court said without naming Pakistan. Three army jawans were killed when LeT terrorists opened fire indiscriminately at Red Fort on December 22, 2000. “This was not only an attack on Red Fort or the army stationed therein, this was an arrogant assault on the self respect of this great nation. It was a well thought out insult offered to question the sovereignty of this great nation by foreign nationals.
Therefore, this case becomes a rarest of rare case. “This was nothing but an undeclared war by some foreign mercenaries like the present appellant and his other partner in conspiracy Abu Shamal and some others who either got killed or escaped,” Justice Sirpurkar writing the judgement said. A two judge bench of justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur rejected the argument of defence lawyer Kamini Jaiswal that Ashfaq was falsely implicated as he was a Pakistani national and said the investigating agency had done a commendable and meticulous job in cracking the case.
“We must immediately note that the criticism is entirely misplaced, both against the investigating agency and the Courts below. “The investigation in this case was both scientific and fair investigation. (PTI)
was one of the most difficult cases to be investigated as there could have been no clue available to the investigating agency, ” the bench said in a nearly 200 page judgement.The apex court said this was a unique case where Red Fort, a place of paramount importance for every Indian, was attacked in which three soldiers lost their lives. “An attack on a symbol like Red Fort was an assault on the nation’s will and resolve to preserve its integrity and sovereignty at all costs. It was a challenge not only to the Army battalions stationed inside the monument but the entire nation. “It was a challenge to the very fabric of a secular constitutional democracy this country has adopted and every thing that is good and dear to our countrymen. The apex court said Red Fort was so paramount for the country that every year the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the eve of Independence Day. “It is a national symbol that evokes the feelings of nationalism amongst the countrymen and reminds them of the sacrifices that the freedom fighters made for the liberation of this country from foreign rule. “No one can ever forget the glorious moments when the Indians irrespective of their religions fought their first war of Independence and shed their blood. It was, therefore, but natural for the foreigner enemies to plan an attack on the army specially kept to guard this great monument.
In conspiring to bring about such kind of attack and then carrying out their nefarious activities in systematic manner to make an attack possible was nothing but an attempt to question the sovereignty of India. Therefore, even without any reference to any other case law, we held this case to be the rarest of rare case,” Justice Sirpurkar said justifying the death sentence. The apex court said a conspiracy to attack the Indian Army unit stationed in Red Fort and the consequent unprovoked attack cannot be described excepting as waging war against India and there can be no question of compromising on this issue.
In fact, this is a unique case where there is one most aggravating circumstance that it was a direct attack on the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India by foreigners. “Thus, it was an attack on Mother India. This is apart from the fact that as many as three persons had lost their lives. The conspirators had no place in India. Appellant was a foreign national and had entered India without any authorisation or even justification.PTI