Patiala (May 28, 2011): The Sikh Students Federation has termed the decision of Union’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on whose recommendations the President of India rejected the mercy petition of Prof. Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar of Punjab, as “most unfortunate”. SSF has termed the decision as an outcome of alleged biased of the Union Government against the Sikhs which has opened another chapter of discrimination against the Sikhs.
SSF President Parmjeet Singh Gazi has alleged that previously it was the judiciary that parted the way of set norm to convict Bhullar on no reliable evidence but now, unfortunately, the political set-up of the country has also applied similar discriminatory norms.
He has claimed that the MHA has ignored the “mercy grounds” while deciding the mercy petition of Prof. Bhullar.
“DPS Bhullar satisfy at least four out of seven mercy grounds, therefore he deserved a clemency which is denied in his case” he claimed while adding that satisfaction of one mercy ground is considered sufficient to grant clemency in such cases” he added.
Elaborating his claim about applicability of mercy grounds, Gazi said that Bhullar’s case was a split decision and judge heading the Supreme Courts’ bench had termed the sole bases of conviction as “bundle of lies” and “tailor made confession” and had rejected it. Same judge of apex court had also acquitted Prof. Bhullar in his separate decision.
Bhullar is the sole person convicted for conspiracy which, as per law, requires at least two persons to enter into, while all other accused persons have been acquitted.
Moreover, Bhullar was never convicted in any other case and he had already spent one and half decade in jail which is equal to normal length of life imprisonment. He was a teacher at an engineering college and his father, uncle and friend were killed by police during enforced disappearance. These are such personal and social conditions and circumstances that demand clemency for him.
He informed that a joint meeting of various Sikh bodies is going to he held on 30 May at Gurudwara Singh Sabha, Sarabha Nagar Ludhiana to discuss the matter, as per directive of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib. SSF has made an appeal to all the Sikh organizations and Human rights bodies to join the meeting.