Raising questions over the fact that in the last few years mostly Muslims were given death penalty in terror cases, the latest being Yakub Memon, former Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly Hashim Abdul Halim said on Sunday that justice should not be “angulated.”

“Many other similar crimes [terror attacks] such as the killing of Sikhs [1984 anti-Sikh riots], the communal riots in Gujarat took place. Have the perpetrators of these crimes been punished?”

Referring to the execution of the 1993 Mumbai blast convict Memon, the former Speaker told The Hindu: “You cannot single out one particular person. There has to be proper justice not angulated justice.” Mr. Halim, who served as Speaker for nearly 30 years, is a constitutional expert.

Row over TripuraGovernor’s tweet



As for Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy’s controversial tweet over the large gathering in Yakub’s funeral, Mr. Halim dubbed his comment “irrelevant” as the concerned person had already been executed. “It does not matter who attended his funeral or not,” he said on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘Democracy and its relevance to the minorities.’

The Tripura Governor courted controversy earlier this week when he tweeted that apart from Yakub’s close friends and relatives, the intelligence agencies should keep an eye on those who attended his funeral.

Unexpected remark, says ex-CJI Altamas Kabir



Former Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir, also disapproved of Mr. Roy’s statement. “What he [Tathagata Roy] said was similar to stepping into the domain of national policy which as a Governor he ought not to have done,” Justice Kabir said on the sidelines of the seminar.

Terming Mr. Roy’s comment “unnecessary,” Justice Kabir said there was no need for Mr. Roy to make such a statement considering the constitutional post he held. “A Governor is a constitutional authority who is above all prejudice. This kind of a comment from Mr. Roy was unexpected,” Justice Kabir told The Hindu.

As for mostly minorities being given the death penalty in terror cases, Justice Kabir termed it “coincidental.” He said terror convicts were involved in cases where actions were initiated against the state.

Referring to the hanging of Yakub, Justice Kabir said it was “not proper” for him to comment on the court’s verdict.