New Delhi: Delhi High Court on October 29 acquitted suspended Delhi University lecturer S A R Geelani and wife of a Kashmiri militant Navjot Sandhu in the Parliament attack case while confirming death sentence for two other accused in the case.

A Bench of Justice Usha Mehra and Justice Pradeep Nandrajog upheld the verdict of the Special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) Court holding Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists Mohd Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru, husband of Sandhu, guilty of waging war against the State and the award of capital penalty to them.

The Court allowed the appeals of Geelani and Sandhu alias Afsan Guru.

While Geelani was convicted and sentenced under POTA as well as various provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being part of the conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001 and waging war against the state, Sandhu was sentenced to five years imprisonment on the charge of concealing the conspiracy.

Pronouncing the verdict in a jam-packed court on October 29 morning, the Bench also allowed the state appeal to enhance the punishment awarded to convict Afzal and Shaukat under Section 121 A of IPC from life imprisonment to death penalty.

PTI