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The development came after a plea was filed in the Delhi HC seeking directions to remove the graves of terrorists Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat from Tihar jail premises.
Delhi HC dismisses plea to remove graves of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat from Tihar jail premises.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking the removal of the graves of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru and JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat from the premises of Tihar Jail. Notably, both convicts were awarded the death penalty and executed in jail over a decade ago.
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Dismissing the plea, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that it cannot entertain the plea to remove the graves since that is a decision to be taken by the government, taking into account law and order.
While the Court agreed with the petitioner’s submission that the graves cannot become a pilgrimage or glorification site, it stated that there should be some empirical data on the site being glorified and a PIL alleging the same cannot be based on newspaper reports.
The development came after a plea was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to remove the graves of terrorists Mohammad Afzal Guru and Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, who were awarded the death penalty and executed in Tihar jail in the national capital.
The PIL also sought directions to the authorities concerned to relocate the mortal remains, if necessary, to a secret location to prevent “glorification of terrorism” and “misuse of jail premises”.
The plea was filed by Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh and one Jitendra Singh, claiming that the construction and continued existence of these graves inside a state-controlled prison was “illegal, unconstitutional, and against public interest”.
The plea alleged that the presence of these graves has turned the central jail, Tihar, into a site of “radical pilgrimage”, where extremist elements gather to venerate convicted terrorists.
The plea said both Bhatt and Guru, acting under the influence of “extremist Jihadi ideology”, orchestrated and executed acts of terrorism that gravely threatened the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India. While Bhat was hanged in 1984, Guru was executed in February 2013.
About the Author
Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De…Read More
Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De… Read More
September 24, 2025, 18:08 IST
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