Memorandum
To: Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil President of India.
From: Karnail Singh Peermohammad President, All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF)
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)
Babu Singh Dukhiya President, National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society
Re: Professor Bhullar’s execution will be a “Judicial Murder”.
Sub: Unconditional release of Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar.
Date: July 15, 2011.
All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) is a recognized and registered organization committed to work for the betterment of Sikh community, promoting the values of Sikhism and to raise voice on the issues concerning the Sikh community.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) a US based human rights organization, believes and adheres to Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
National 1984 Victims Justice and Welfare Society is a group consisting of widows, victims and survivors of November 1984 Sikh Genocide working to achieve justice.
Devenderpal Singh Bhullar, a former instructor of Guru Nanak Engineering Polytechnic College Ludhiana, Punjab has been sentenced to death by a split decision of the Supreme Court of India. Professor Bhullar was taken into custody in January 1995 and has been convicted under the notorious TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act of India. During the police custody, Professor Bhullar was tortured and was forced to sign on “blank sheets of papers” which were later used to engineer his “confessional statement”. During the proceedings before the trial court, Professor Bhullar retracted from the so called “confessional statement” and explained how he was forced to sign on the blank papers. Despite Bhullar’s denial, retraction and highly improbable and questionable nature of the “confessional statement”, he was sentenced to death solely on the basis of this “statement” and without any independent corroborating evidence or witness.
According to Justice MB Shah of the Supreme Court of India who allowed Professor Bhullar’s appeal, Bhullar deserved to be acquitted because:
Prosecution had no independent corroborating evidence against Bhullar and solely relied on his “confession” which was of questionable authenticity and no one can be awarded death sentence on mere “confession”. All of the co-accused of Bhullar were acquitted and thus Bhullar alone cannot be sentenced for “conspiracy”, an act which by definition requires “two or more persons”.
Professor Bhullar’s has not only been convicted in blatant violation of “due process” but he is also suffering from inhuman and cruel treatment as he is in continuous detention for the last sixteen (16) years.
Professor Bhullar’s case is of unusual significance because in democratic India, Professor Bhullar met with injustice at every stage in that
Before the trial, Professor Bhullar was tortured in police custody and was forced to sign on “blank sheets of papers” which were later used to engineer his “confessional statement”. During the trial, despite of Professor Bhullar’s vehement retraction, every rule of law that protects the rights of accused was either violated, overlooked or bent against him to award him “death sentence” After the completion of judicial process, despite clear errors of law in the judgment sentencing Professor Bhullar to “death”, he was once again denied justice by President of India when Bhullar’s illegal conviction was not reversed as mandated by under Article 72 of the Constitution of India.
Ms. President, as a constitutional head of the India, you are duty bound to act and protect the rights of all the citizens of India regardless of religion against any injustice. Professor Bhullar’s conviction and planned execution is in violation of Article 21 of Constitution of India which prohibits taking of life and liberty without “due process of law”.
We the Citizens of India demand “Unconditional Release” of Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar.