New Delhi, February 14
The Delhi Government today informed the Supreme Court that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had already recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that the death penalty awarded to Devender Pal Singh Bhullar be reduced to life sentence in view of the convict’s mental status.

The LG’s opinion, given on January 6, 2014, was sent to the Union Home Ministry on January 20 to be forwarded to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Archna Arora, Principal Secretary in the Home Department of the Delhi Government, said in an affidavit filed in the SC.

The affidavit has been filed in response to the notice issued by the SC on January 31 while entertaining a fresh petition filed by Bhullar’s wife Navneet Kaur.

The President had sought the LG’s views on a fresh mercy plea from Kaur. Upon this, a medical board was set up and the board visited the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), near Delhi, on December 3, 2013 and examined Bhullar undergoing treatment there since 2010. In its report, the Board said Bhullar “can comprehend simple questions and commands, though his responses remain mostly irrelevant and incoherent” and that “the chances of his full recovery remain poor, though, he may show variable and ill-sustained improvement over a period of time.”

After considering the medical report, the LG said: “The question before me is whether in terms of moral principles such a person can be condemned to death. In many ways it would appear as if a child without a mind and in poor health is condemned to death for an incident that he committed when his mind and body were in a completely different state. On principles of human ethics, and natural justice I cannot bring myself to recommend the rejection of the mercy petition of Navneet Kaur and my comments may kindly be forwarded to the President for his final disposal in the matter.” On January 21, the SC had also stayed the execution of Bhullar on Kaur’s petition seeking commutation of the death penalty awarded to him in a 1993 bomb attack case.

Besides his mental status, Kaur has also cited the over eight years of delay in the rejection of his mercy plea by the President as the reason for reducing his sentence to life term.

• The Delhi Government said in an affidavit that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had already recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that the death penalty awarded to Devender Pal Singh Bhullar be reduced to life sentence in view of the convict’s mental status
• The affidavit has been filed in response to the notice issued by the SC on January 31 while entertaining a fresh petition filed by Bhullar’s wife Navneet Kaur
• The President had sought the LG’s views on a fresh mercy plea from Kaur.