Delhi High Court Dismisses Plea To Remove Afzal Guru And Maqbool Bhat’s Graves From Tihar Jail

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition seeking the removal of the graves of Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) founder Mohammed Maqbool Bhat from within the Tihar Jail complex.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the burials took place in 2013 and that the petitioners were raising the issue only in 2025, a gap of twelve years.

The judges noted that the petitioners did not demonstrate any violation of statutory or constitutional rights.

Court Allows Fresh Petition with Data

While rejecting the plea, the Court permitted the petitioners, Vishva Vedic Sanatan Sangh and Jitendra Singh, to file a new petition supported by substantive data.

It underscored that any relief in a public interest litigation must show an infringement of constitutional, fundamental or statutory rights.

The judges further held that neither burial nor cremation inside prison premises violates any law or regulation. The courts sentenced both Guru and Bhat to death, and Tihar Jail authorities executed them.

The Court described the matter as sensitive and urged people to debate it in forums other than the judiciary. It emphasised that the dignity of final rites must be respected while ensuring that law and order are maintained.

The government had buried the two men inside the jail with these concerns in mind.

The dismissed petition had argued that the construction and continued presence of the graves inside Tihar Jail were illegal, unconstitutional and against public interest. It also claimed that the graves had turned the prison into a ‘radical pilgrimage site’ for extremist elements to gather and pay homage to convicted terrorists.

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