SC okays death for attacker of Red Fort

Confirming the death penalty, a Bench of justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur said: “This was not only an attack on Red Fort or the army stationed therein, this was an arrogant assault on the self respect of this great nation. It was a well thought out insult offered to question the sovereignty of this great nation by foreign nationals. Therefore, this case becomes a rarest of rare case,” the Bench said.

In its 153-page verdict, the court said the incident was a “blatant, brazenfaced and audacious act aimed to overawe the Government of India. No one can ever forget the glorious moments when the Indians irrespective of their religions fought their First War of Independence and shed their blood. It was, therefore, but natural for the foreigner enemies to plan an attack on the army specially kept to guard this great monument.”

The Bench concluded that an attack on a symbol that is so deeply entrenched in the national psyche was, therefore, nothing but an attack on the very essence of the hard earned freedom and liberty, so very dear to the people of this country.

“An attack on a symbol like Red Fort was an assault on the nation’s will and resolve to preserve its integrity and sovereignty at all costs. It was a challenge not only to the Army battalions stationed inside the monument but the entire nation,” the court said, taking a grave view of the incident.

It was a challenge to the very fabric of a secular constitutional democracy this country has adopted and every thing that is good and dear to our countrymen, the court said.