Dec 13: Geelani, Afsan move HC against verdict

Shaukat’s wife Afsan was given a five year jail term and fined Rs 10,000 for wilfully not disclosing the conspiracy, though she was not a party to it. Nitya Rama Krishnan, representing Afsan, said: ‘‘Afsan’s case is different from the others. While the rest are POTA accused, she alone has been convicted under the IPC.’’

‘‘The court has not held her guilty of conspiracy but convicted her for concealment, ’’ said Rama Krishnan. She added that there was no positive evidence against Afsan and the court had relied on phone intercepts, which were questionable.

Afsan’s petition, who has been convicted under Section 123 of IPC, is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow.

Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, who is representing Geelani along with senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, said: ‘‘There is no evidence against him.’’ The whole case was ‘‘based on a two-and-a-half minute conversation that Geelani had with his brother’’.

Geelani’s petition had been filed in the registry but as there were some technical objections it is likely to come up in a day or two. All three were convicted under various Sections of the IPC, POTA, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act. The charges under POTA and Section 302 of the IPC carried death sentences, which can be executed only after being confirmed by the HC.