Zee Media Bureau, New Delhi :Former Delhi High Court chief justice AP Shah has claimed that the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon were politically motivated.Speaking exclusively to news channel CNN-IBN, the former chairman of the Law Commission, opined that while Afzal was let down by the executive, there were still some grounds for favouring the mercy petition of Memon.While responding to a query on Memon’s hanging, the former Delhi HC chief justice said that there was difference of opinion between the Supreme Court judges and then it was forwarded to another bench of three judges. Justice Shah further said that after a mercy petition is rejected one is given 14 days time.The former chairman of the Law Commission also maintained that Yakub’s case is ‘a clear example where due process wasn’t followed’, while adding that he was ‘troubled by how his case was handled’.On Afzal’s case, Justice Shah insisted that his mercy petition was kept pending for a long time and the government abruptly decided to carry out …(his execution).”The executive let him down,” the ex-Delhi chief justice said. The government acted in a haste and its actions were politically motivated, while also stressing that it is not necessary that death sentence acts as a deterrent in terror cases. Justice Shah also agreed that judges do get influenced by political realities, which also reflected in the decisions some times.
