In a major relief to Khalistani terrorist Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, convicted in 1993 Delhi bomb blast case, the Supreme Court today commuted his death sentence to life term, saying there was "inordinate delay" of eight years in deciding his mercy plea by the President and on the ground of his insanity.
A four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam granted life to 48-year-old Bhullar observing that the report of the medical board, constituted to ascertain his medical condition, clearly showed that he was suffering from "acute mental illness".
"....We deem it fit to commute the death sentence imposed on Devender Pal Singh Bhullar into life imprisonment both on the ground of unexplained/inordinate delay of eight years in disposal of mercy petition and on the ground of insanity. To this extent, the curative petition stands allowed," the bench, also comprising justices R M Lodha, H L Dattu and Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, said.
The apex court passed the judgement on a curative petition filed by Bhullar's wife Navneet Kaur in which she had urged the court to review its verdict, in which the convict's plea for commuting the sentence was rejected, in view of its recent judgement that delay in deciding mercy plea can be a ground for commutation of death penalty.
The bench, in its nine-page verdict, also referred to the judgement passed by a three-judge bench on January 21 in which it had held that inordinate delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence.
The apex court had granted life to 15 condemned prisoners including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan.
Referring to the January 21 verdict, the bench said that the three-judge bench had also held that insanity or mental illness or schizophrenia was also one of the supervening circumstances for commutation of death sentence to life term.
"By applying the principle enunciated in Shatrughan Chauhan (supra), the accused cannot be executed with the said health condition," it said.
Bhullar was convicted and awarded 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.
