KL Report
Srinagar
The writ petition filed by Muhammad Afzal Guru for his shift from Tihar jail to Srinagar Central Jail was rejected by Supreme Court two days after his execution. Justice Chelameswar issued the order on February 11.
“Afzal was keenly awaiting the outcome of this writ petition, as he hoped that the Court’s decision in his favour would enable his family get an opportunity to visit him in jail more frequently than it could,” said Prof. SAR Geelani and the lawyer of Afzal, ND Pancholi, who visited him in jail.
As reported by a Delhi based newspaper, The Hindu, Afzal filed this petition early in 2011, through the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) after the Delhi government rejected his request (on July 1, 2010) to transfer him to Srinagar Central Jail in view of the fact that the Jammu and Kashmir government had not given its consent for the transfer, and also that his mercy petition was pending before the President.
The writ petition was filed by his lawyer VC Mahajan, who sought the court’s direction for the transfer of Afzal to either a jail in Jammu and Kashmir or at Pathankot in Punjab, which is nearer to the state. But his lawyer, appointed by the SCLSC, remained absent on most of the hearings and finally the court asked the Secretary, SCLSC, to look into it and submit a report. However, the Supreme Court’s case status on its website for January 4, when it was last heard and adjourned, makes no mention of this report.
Afzal was keenly awaiting the outcome of this writ petition, as he hoped that the Court’s decision in his favour would enable his family get an opportunity to visit him in jail more frequently than it could.
