To Hang or Not to Hang?
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 29 September 2011, 03:11 IST   |    21 Comments
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Fortunately Punjab did not witness any major terror attacks over a decade now, but the election fever has always lit up the issues relating to anti-Sikh riots and militancy in the state. Now as the Supreme Court permitted Devender Pal Singh Bhullar who was involved in the 1993 car bomb blast at the Youth Congress office, to amend his plea to incorporate the contention that in case of a split verdict over the death penalty, only a five-judge Constitution Bench must award the death penalty. His mercy petition was rejected by the president in May. He has been initially sentenced to death by a special TADA court in 2001 for his involvement in the bombing at the All-India Youth Congress conclave targeting its then president Maninderjit Singh Bitta. Nine security personnel were killed in the bomb blast. Filing a writ petition, his Bullar's wife Navneeth Kaur alleged that the prolonged delay in the disposal of his mercy petition was a dehumanising act and the delay left him mentally retarded over the period of time.
Bhullar
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has demanded the prime minister to intervene and stop his execution. The state congress unit and Delhi Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee have opposed the verdict to hang him. However, Bhartiya Janta Party criticized Akali Dal's demand seeking clemency for death row convict. The Dal Khalsa accused the BJP for its double talk and asked on what moral grounds the party has been advocating the case of spy Sarbjit Singh while asking for a death penalty to Bhullar.

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