Two weeks later the mercy petition plea file of the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru moved again, with Delhi’s Lt. Governor, Tejendra Khanna, on Thursday night sending the file along with his notings to the Union home ministry, which had sought the opinion of the city government four years ago on the merits of the plea.
“The file was sent to the Union home ministry on Thursday at 9.30 pm,” stated a senior Raj Nivas official, who refused to divulge any further details. On May 19, Delhi government had sent Afzal’s mercy petition plea to the Lt. Governor. The Delhi government had gone by the Supreme Court verdict, which had awarded death punishment to Afzal.
The Raj Niwas remained tight-lipped on what opinion Lt. Governor has given in his notings on the file. However, sources indicated that Mr Khanna has not objected to Afzal’s death punishment as awarded by the apex court.
Though it took almost four years for the Delhi government to move Afzal’s plea, the Lt. Governor took just two weeks to clear the file even though Mr Khanna had gone on vacation in between. Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dikshit stated that the Lt. Governor took two weeks to send the file.