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Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar seeks
a shift to Punjab
WSN Network
 CHANDIGHRH:
Death-row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, lodged in Tihar jail
with a mercy petition pending with the President since 2003, has
appealed to the home secretary of Punjab to transfer him to a jail
in the state.
Bhullar's
advocate Navkiran Singh said the letter dated August 17 had also
been sent to home secretary Delhi but they were still awaiting
reply. Bhullar was convicted and handed out a death sentence by the
apex court for his involvement in the 1993 bombing of the Youth
Congress office in Delhi, but large sections of the Sikh community
believes it was a miscarriage of justice.
The letter sent
by Navkiran Singh reads: “My client is under restrictive custody as
a condemned prisoner since Aug 25, 2001. His mercy petition is
pending with the President of India since Jan 14, 2003.”
The letter has
also cited a few Supreme Court judgments to corroborate his argument
that a “prisoner should be detained near his home so that he can be
visited by his family and friends and rehabilitative process is not
hampered”.
It further
stated that his long incareceration away from his home state has
caused great harm to his physical and mental health and at the age
of 46 he is suffering from depression and many other illnesses for
the past four-six years. He spends almost 22 hours in his 7x9 feet
cell suffering a slow death.
The advocate
said normally a prisoner was given a chance to meet his family twice
a week but in case of Bhullar, his family and friends from
Punjab
would not be able to get to
Delhi every
week.
Incidentally, at
one stage, Prakash Singh Badal had reached out to the President of
India to seek justice for Bhullar but now his government has gone on
record telling the court that he is a terrorist. Bhullar continues
to enjoy widespread support among the Sikh community.
26
August 2009
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