Supreme Court To Hear Curative Plea Of Red Fort Attack Convict Mohammad Arif

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine the curative petition filed by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Arif, who is on death row in the 2000 Red Fort attack case in which three Army jawans were killed, according to PTI.

A special bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari considered the submissions made on Arif’s behalf, which relied on Supreme Court judgements delivered after his appeal and review petition had already been dismissed. Taking note of the arguments, the Chief Justice said, “Issue notice,” PTI reported.

The curative plea comes after the apex court, on November 3, 2022, rejected Arif’s review petition challenging his death sentence. As reported by PTI, the curative petition is the final legal remedy available to a convict after both the appeal and the review plea have been dismissed by the Supreme Court itself.

Arif, also known as Ashfaq, was sentenced to death by a trial court in October 2005. The Delhi High Court upheld the trial court’s verdict in September 2007. He subsequently approached the Supreme Court, which in August 2011 affirmed the death sentence awarded to him, PTI reported.

According to the prosecution, the case relates to an incident on the night of December 22, 2000, when intruders entered the Red Fort complex in Delhi, where a unit of the 7 Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army was stationed, and opened fire. Three Army jawans were killed in the attack.