Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that the petitioner Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed was convicted under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and pleaded guilty to the offence of terrorism.
The High Court stressed that the Supreme Court has held that concurrent running of sentences should not be allowed in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) cases because of their impact on society.
Justice Sharma said that terror cases must be dealt with an even higher degree of sternness.
“In this case, the petitioner had himself pleaded guilty to charges framed under UAPA, for his acts of planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Haridwar during Kumbh Mela and plotting to kill a leader of Hindu Mahasabha, primarily with an aim to harm and disrupt communal harmony in the country, and since lenient view has already been taken by the Trial Courts at the stage of sentencing, no further leniency can be granted to the petitioner by allowing concurrent running of sentences awarded to him by the Trial Courts in Greater Bombay and in Delhi,” the Court said.
Source: Barandbench
