Fmr DU prof SAR Geelani who was arrested in 2001 Parl attack case dies

Former Delhi University professor Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, who was sentenced to death by a special court but later acquitted by the Supreme Court in the 2001 Parliament attack case, died on Thursday. He died following a cardiac arrest, his family said. "He passed away on Thursday evening due to cardiac arrest," a family member confirmed to news agency PTI.

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Geelani was a professor in Arabic at Delhi University's Zakir Hussain College. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He was also charged with sedition in 2016 after he had organised an event in the Press Club of India against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. This incident was days after a similar event at JNU had sparked controversy over alleged anti-national slogans that led to the arrest of student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and two others.

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Geelani arrested in the Parliament attack case

Geelani was arrested in connection with the Parliament attack case but was acquitted for "need of evidence" by the Delhi High Court on October 2003. This decision was then upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2005. Though the apex court had upheld the high court decision, it had remained "suspicious of his role". Geelani's counsel, noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who passed away last month, had argued that the Supreme Court's "unfortunate observations, even while acquitting him for want of evidence, were seriously affecting both his career and social life." But the apex court had rejected Jethmalani's plea.

(with PTI inputs)

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