General News

Prof. Bhullar case: Supreme Court of India to announce verdict on March 31

March 30, 2014 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

New Delhi, India (March 30, 2014): The Supreme Court of India will deliver its judgment on Monday (March 31) on Sikh political prisoner Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s plea against death penalty awarded to him by an Indian court.

The verdict will be pronounced by a four-member Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, who has written it for the court, and Justices RM Lodha, HL Dattu and SJ Mukhopadhaya.

All developments relating to the case this year clearly indicate that Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar will get a favourable verdict.

First, a three-member Bench headed by the CJI had ruled in a verdict in a similar case on January 21 that it did not agree with a smaller SC Bench judgment, rejecting Prof. Bhullar’s plea on the ground that he was a terrorist and as such had no right to seek sentence reduction on the basis of the delay in the rejection of their mercy pleas.

The CJI Bench said there could be no classification among death-row convicts as all capital punishments were decided on the single principle of “rarest of rare cases” evolved by various Constitution Benches of five and more judges.

Second, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has in his report to the President recommended that Bhullar’s mercy plea should be accepted and this has been conveyed to the SC.

Third, the Centre told the SC on March 26 that it did not want to oppose his plea in the light of the January 21 verdict.

Fourth, Devender Pal Singh Bhullar is being treated for mental illness since 2010 and no such person can be sent to the gallows.

The only aspect that has to be seen in the verdict is whether the SC would specify that he would be entitled to remissions in the life term.

Tweet

---

To Get Sikh Siyasat News Alerts via WhatsApp:

(1) Save Our WhatsApp Number 0091-855-606-7689 to your phone contacts; and
(2) Send us Your Name via WhatsApp. Click Here to Send WhatsApp Message Now.

Sikh Siyasat is on Telegram Now. Subscribe to our Telegram Channel

---

Related Topics: Death Penalty, Prof. Bhullar, Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar

Leave a Reply