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The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Delhi government seeking a response on a curative petition (last resort remedy) filed by Pakistani terrorist and death row convict Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq, who was convicted for his role in the 2000 Red Fort attack.
The Court had, in November 2022, affirmed the convict's death sentence by rejecting a review plea filed by him. Subsequently, in 2024, the convicts' mercy plea was rejected by President Droupadi Murmu. Today, a three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant accepted the convicts' plea by seeking a response from the State of Delhi. Arif was convicted in connection with the attack which took place at the Red Fort on the night of December 22, 2000, at about 9 pm. Terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba, armed with AK-56 rifles and hand grenades, entered the Red Fort and started firing indiscriminately, and gunned down three Army jawans of 7 Rajputana Rifles. When the personnel of the Quick Army Reaction Team returned the fire, the intruders made good their escape by scaling the rear side boundary wall of the Lal Quila towards the Ring Road side. Arif, a Pakistani national and LeT terrorist, was booked by the Delhi government and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2011. His review petition was earlier rejected by the apex court, which found the proof of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Red Fort attack claimed three lives, including one sentry and two Rajputana Rifles personnel. Arif now challenges his death sentence by way of a curative plea, meaning a last resort remedy only available to petitioners who have lost the case at the stage of review. (ANI)
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