SC commutes death sentence for Devinder Singh Bhullar

The Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar to life imprisonment after the Centre had also backed the reduction of his sentence. “Due to an inordinate delay for eight years, the Supreme Court said death could not be awarded to Bhullar,” Bhullar’s lawyer KTS Tulsi told reporters outside the apex court. The lawyer said that the apex court had taken into consideration the medical reports of the convict, especially the last report of the medical board which unanimously said Bhullar continues to suffer from mental illness. The decision comes after the Attorney General submitted that the Centre had no problem with the sentence being commuted to life imprisonment. [caption id=“attachment_1458667” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bhullar was confirmed to be suffering from mental illness. PTI[/caption] “This is a case which has to be allowed because the mercy petition of the convict was decided after a delay of eight years,” Attorney General GE Vahanvati told the bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam. The bench had on 31 January stayed Bhullar’s execution and had agreed to review its judgement by which it had rejected the 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict’s plea to commute his death sentence to life term. It had issued notice to the Centre and Delhi government on a curative petition and had also directed IHBAS, where Bhullar is being treated, to file a medical report on the condition of the death row convict who is alleged to be suffering from mental illness. The plea of Bhullar’s wife for the commutation of his death sentence assumes significance in view of the apex court’s 21 January verdict holding that inordinate and inexplicable delay by the government in deciding mercy pleas of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence. Bhullar’s wife filed the petition against the apex court verdict which rejected her plea to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment on grounds of delay on the part of the government in deciding his mercy plea. He was convicted and awarded the death penalty for triggering a bomb blast in New Delhi in September 1993, which killed nine persons and injured 25 others, including then Youth Congress president M S Bitta. The apex court had on 26 March, 2002 dismissed Bhullar’s appeal against the death sentence awarded by a trial court in August 2001 and endorsed by the Delhi High Court in 2002. He had filed a review petition which was also dismissed on 17 December, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition which was also rejected by the apex court on 12 March, 2003. Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on 14 January, 2003. After a lapse of over eight years,  this was also dismissed on 14 May, 2011. Citing the delay, he had again moved the apex court for commutation of the death sentence but his plea was rejected. The apex court on 21 January had held inordinate delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence and had granted life to 15 condemned prisoners including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan. In the landmark judgement, the court had held that prolonging execution of death sentence has a “dehumanising effect” on condemned prisoners who have to face the “agony” of waiting for years under the shadow of death during the pendency of their mercy plea. With inputs from PTI