NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday permitted Devender Pal Singh Bhullar – awarded the death sentence for his involvement in 1993 car bomb blast at the Youth Congress office here – to amend his plea to incorporate the contention that in case of a split verdict over the death penalty, the case should be decided by a larger constitution bench.
An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice H.L. Dattu permitted Bhullar to amend his petition after he contended that a three-judge bench upheld his death sentence by a majority verdict of two. One of the judges gave a dissenting verdict.
Bhullar is seeking the commuting of his death sentence to life imprisonment. He was convicted in 2001 for his involvement in the 1993 car bomb blast at Indian Youth Congress headquarters in New Delhi.
His mercy petition was rejected by the president in May.
He challenged the inordinately long time of over 15 years taken by the government in deciding his plea for clemency.
Challenging the rejection of his mercy petition, Bhullar contended that his state of mental health was such that his death sentence could not be executed.
The court has given Bhullar one week to file his amended petition and another two weeks to the Delhi government to reply.
It may be recalled that Bhullar’s wife Navneert Kaur had moved the apex court challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the president.
Contending that deciding of the mercy petition of her husband out of turn was arbitrary and violative of his fundamental rights under the constitution, Navneet Kaur said “picking up the case of my husband out of turn is clearly arbitrary and violative of articles 14, 19 and 21 of the constitution as the case of another terrorist has remained pending with the president since June 21, 2005.”(IANS)