The Supreme Court today allowed death row convict Devender Pal Singh Bhullars plea to file an amendment application for reducing his sentence to life term by raising two additional grounds in his support. Appearing for Bhullar,senior counsel K T S Tulsi said the death sentence was erroneous not only because the execution was delayed for eight years,but was contrary to the recommendations of the Law Commission that death penalty cases should be heard only by a Constitution bench. Another plea made by Bhullar was that his original death sentence was awarded by a 2:1 split verdict which cannot be relied upon as there was an element of doubt among the judges in awarding the capital punishment. A bench of justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu granted one week time for Bhullar to file his amended application and sought Delhi governments reply within two weeks thereafter. Bhullar was sentenced to death by a designated TADA court on August 25,2001,for his role in the September 10,1993,blast in Delhi targeting the cavalcade of car carrying then All India Youth Congress president M S Bitta,who escaped with serious injuries,though nine security personnel were killed. The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed his appeal,review and also the curative petition on March 12,2003. On May 23,the apex court had sought Delhi governments response on Bhullars plea that his death penalty be reduced to life imprisonment as his mercy petition before the President has not been decided for the past eight years. However,on May 26,Pratibha Patil rejected the mercy plea. In the writ petition before the apex court,his family claimed Bhullar had developed suicidal tendencies and a host of health complications in Tihar jail and pleaded his sentence be reduced to life imprisonment. It cited a 1989 Supreme Court ruling wherein it was held such convicts can seek commutation on ground of delay in executing the punishment. Bhullar,in a fresh writ petition,said prolonged delay in execution of the death sentence was dehumanising and unconstitutional as it had the implication of depriving a person of his life in an unjust and inhuman manner. According to the petition,Bhullar,due to his prolonged stay in jail,had developed suicidal tendencies,depression,hypertension,arthritis,cervical and other problems. The convict stated that he had made representations to successive prime ministers A B Vajpayee,H D Deve Gowda,Manmohan Singh,then President A P J Abdul Kalam and others on his mercy plea but till date there was no response. Counsel Tulsi said it was a tortuous wait for Bhullar all these eight years as the government was not taking any decision on his mercy plea. It was alleged the death sentence was awarded based on his sole confession obtained through coercion and duress under the TADA Act. Under the Act,confession to a police officer of the rank of DCP was an admissible piece of evidence. Awarding death sentence on the basis of the said confession,the trial court as well as the Supreme Court not only committed a grave error of law but also diverted itself from the usual practice and procedure laid down in other judgements under TADA. The confirmation of capital punishment upon Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and subsequent dismissal of his review petition as well as the curative petition by this honourable court is a grave injustice, the petition stated.
