A sessions court today ordered that Mohammad Afzal, convicted in the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack case, be executed on October 20. Tihar Jail authorities said the execution, the first in 17 years, will be carried out once they receive formal orders. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said no mercy petition had been received.

Special POTA Court judge ASJ Ravinder Kaur today formally issued what is referred to as the black warrant. The order stated that Afzal “hang by the neck till death at 0600 hours on October 20, 2006”. After the order, his lawyer said Afzal hasn’t decided yet on a mercy petition but legal experts said he would now need the court’s permission to do so. If that is denied, he could, as a last option, file a writ petition in the High Court or Supreme Court.

On December 18, 2002, the court had sentenced Afzal to death, along with Delhi University lecturer S A R Geelani and Shaukat Hussain Guru for the terror strike on Parliament, under sections 302 of the IPC and 3(2) of the POTA. The court had also sentenced Shaukat’s wife Afsan Guru to five years RI for concealing knowledge of the conspiracy.

Prosecutors, while seeking the death penalty, said Afzal was in touch with Jaish commander Ghazi Baba and had arranged shelter and transport in Delhi for the five fidayeen who attacked Parliament.

The Delhi High Court later acquitted Geelani and Afsan Guru.

Afzal’s death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court bench of Justices P V Reddy and P V Naolekar on August 4, 2005, while Shaukat Guru’s sentence was reduced to 10 years R I.

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