As the condemned Khalistani militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar escaped the gallows following the apex court’s decision to commute his death penalty into life, the voices demanding his release can be heard loud and clear.
Various religious, political parties have lent their support seeking his release on the grounds that he had already “served 19 years behind bars”.
Hailing the Supreme Court’s verdict commuting Bhullar’s death sentence to life imprisonment, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday stated that he should be “released immediately”.
“Supreme Court verdict has reinforced the confidence of the Sikh community in the judicial system…Now he should be set free as he had already served 19 years in solitary cells behind the bars,” said SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar.
Makkar said that the Centre should immediately order his release on humanitarian and health grounds.
The Supreme Court on Monday commuted the death sentence of 1993 Delhi bomb blast case convict Bhullar to life term on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea and his medical condition.
Also welcoming the commutation of death sentence, panthic outfit Dal Khalsa stated the Supreme Court’s move correcting the mistake of Indian governance system that has delayed Bhullar’s freedom for so long would only be served only when “he will be set free as he had already served 19 years behind bars”.
He said: “The Union Home Ministry should immediately order his release on humanitarian and health grounds. Prof Bullar deserves freedom as he had suffered a lot and his reunion with his family members is required for his well-being.” Reiterating their principle stand that world should be without capital punishment, he said that India should abolish death penalty from its statue. Also welcoming the decision, Shiromani Akali Dal said that though delayed by the Center's “long and painful apathy”, the apex court's verdict would meet some of ends of justice.
“The agony and persecution which Bhullar had to suffer could have been considerably shortened if the Congress Government at the Centre had not waited till the Supreme Court to intervene and had recommended the commutation of death penalty into a life term on its own,” stated the party's general secretary and chief spokesperson for the lok Sabha poll Harcharan Singh Bains.