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Bhullar case: Apex court verdict on Monday
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, March 29
The Supreme Court will deliver its judgment on Monday on Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s plea for reducing to life term the death penalty awarded to him in a 1993 bomb blast case.

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 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 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. If he is, he will walk out of the jail in a matter of time.

Bhullar was sentenced to death for his role in the blast in Delhi in which nine persons were killed and 25 injured.

Verdict likely in his favour

• Bhullar (in pic) was sentenced to death for his role in a 1993 Delhi bomb blast case in which nine persons were killed and 25 injured
• The SC will deliver its judgment on whether or not to reduce to life term the death penalty awarded to him
• All developments relating to the case this year indicate Bhullar will get a favourable verdict.