Bhullar will not be executed till mercy plea is decided: Centre to SC

Bhullar was convicted and awarded death penalty for triggering a bomb blast in New Delhi in September 1993, which killed nine persons and injured 25 others, including the then Youth Congress chief M S Bitta.

The apex court had on March 26, 2002 dismissed Bhullar's appeal against death sentence awarded by a trial court in August 2001 and endorsed by the Delhi High Court in 2002.  He had filed a review petition which was also dismissed on December 17, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition which too had been rejected by the apex court on March 12, 2003.

Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on January 14, 2003.

The President, after a lapse of over eight years, dismissed his mercy plea on May 14, 2011. Citing the delay, he had again moved the apex court for commutation of the death sentence but his plea was rejected.

The apex court had on January 21 held inordinate delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence and granted life term to 15 condemned prisoners, including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan.

In a landmark judgement, the court had held that prolonging execution of death sentence has a “dehumanising effect” on condemned prisoners who have to face the “agony” of waiting for years under the shadow of death during the pendency of their mercy plea.