National Conference chief and Union minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday expressed happiness over Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir's remark -- that the families of death row convicts should be informed in advance about their execution.
"Today I am happy that not only us, but the Supreme Court also sees it and understands that what has happened was wrong," Abdullah told reporters.
The CJI's remarks came against the backdrop of the family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru not being informed about his hanging in due time.
"We have told this time and again that he was not given a chance, his family was not given a chance to meet him,” he said.
The minister cautioned that discussing the issue over and over again would "only lead to pain".
"Whatever has happened has happened. If we time and again beat around it, we won't be able to heal the hearts of people. It will only lead to more pain. The time has come for us to make attempts to correct the mistake and ensure that no such mistake is committed in the future," Abdullah said.
The communication regarding the rejection of Guru's mercy plea and his subsequent execution had reached his relatives two days after he was hanged on February 9.
When asked why his party did not withdraw from the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance after Guru's execution, he said, "Why should I withdraw, do you think that Farooq Abdullah's job is to only withdraw (from the government)."
On having prior intimation about Guru's execution, he said, "The central government has got its own powers and they used their powers without saying anything to the state government. I am also a member of the government, I was not informed. I came to know like everybody else".
