The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Delhi police on a curative petition filed by Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Mohd Arif alias Ashfaq challenging the death penalty handed to him for killing three army jawans at the Red Fort in 2000.
Arif’s two earlier review petitions and a curative petition had been dismissed by the top court. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J.K. Maheshwari issued a notice to the respondent, Delhi police, seeking a reply within four weeks.
“Heard learned counsel for the petitioner. Issue notices returnable within four weeks,” the bench said in an order after hearing advocate-on-record A.S. Vairawan, representing Arif.
Arif has challenged his conviction on the ground of lack of adequate evidence and false implication. He has filed the curative petition, the last resort of a litigant before the highest court, as his earlier appeals had been dismissed.
On November 3, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld Arif’s death sentence, saying no challenge can be countenanced to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India and there were no “mitigating circumstances” to warrant a review.