SC has different view on Bhullar
M.N. Das, who was awarded capital punishment for beheading a man, had moved a mercy plea before the President in 1999, which remained pending for 11 years and was rejected by former President Pratibha Patil in 2011.
Das then filed a writ petition in the apex court pleading for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment since he had already spent about 14 years in jail during the disposal of his petition seeking presidential clemency. He is currently lodged in Jorhat Central Jail in Assam. His lawyer had argued in the apex court before a bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi that “delay in deciding mercy plea is worse than death”.
On April 11, the Supreme Court turned down that same argument in the case of Khalistani militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who was awarded death penalty for a bomb blast in Delhi in 1993 in which nine persons were killed. His appeal to have his sentence commuted was turned down by the President after eight years. When he asked for mercy from the apex court saying there had been delay in deciding his clemency plea, the Supreme Court had said that terrorists cannot seek mercy by citing inordinate delays in the final call on their appeals.
Wednesday’s verdict is expected to impact the cases of over 15 other death row prisoners, including three in jail in Tamil Nadu convicted for the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and four members of the gang led by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.
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