Srinagar, September 24 (IANS) Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought instructions to remove the tombs of terrorists Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru from the premises of Tihar Jail.
While Maqbool Bhat was hanged in Tihar Jail on 11 February 1984, Afzal Guru was hanged in the same jail on 9 February 2013.
Both were later buried in the prison premises, which was after performing the last rites according to Islamic principles.
Jean was filed by the World Vedic Sanatan Sangh and a person named Jitendra Singh. The petition argued that the construction and continuous presence of tombs inside the state -run prison was “against illegal, unconstitutional and public interest”.
A bench of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela withdrew the pilot.
The reluctance of the bench for the entertainment of the pilot motivated the petition counsel to argue before the court to allow it to withdraw the petition.
The High Court bench saw, “To contact the court for relief in a gene, you have to show us a violation of constitutional rights, fundamental rights or legal rights. No law or rule does not prohibit a cremation or burial inside the prison complex,” said the bench.
The PIL had sought directions to the concerned authorities to transfer the mortal remains of both, if necessary, if necessary, to prevent the misuse of the prison complex. The petitioners claimed that the presence of these tombs has converted the Central Jail, Tihar into a site of the ‘radical pilgrimage’, where extremist elements gather for the convicted terrorists.
The petitioners said, “It not only reduces national security and public system, but also sanctifies terrorism in direct violation of the principles of secularism and law under the Constitution of India.”
For this, the bench asked where to say the data to say that people are going inside to pay tribute to Guru and Bhatt’s tombs.
The argument claimed that the existence of these graves inside the jail violates the Rules of Delhi Jails, 2018, which mandates the disposal of the bodies of executed prisoners in a mandate that prevents glory, ensures the prison discipline, and maintains public order.
Maqbool Bhat founded JKLF, which later began an armed extremism for the separation of Jammu and Kashmir from India.
On November 4, 1989, JKLF militants shot and killed Judge Neelkanth Ganju, who chaired the trial of the Amar Chand murder, and sentenced to death on Makbool Bhat.
Afzal Guru was a terrorist who was convicted for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack. He was sentenced to death for his participation, which was upheld by the Supreme Court. After rejection of a mercy petition by the President, he was killed on 9 February 2013. His body was buried within the erstwhile of Tihar Jail in Delhi.
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SQ/DPB