Devinder pal Bhullar’ wife Navnit Kaur told the Times of India over the phone from Vancouver:“I havegot the biggestrelief of mylife in courtc o m m u t i n gdeath sentenceinto lifeimprisonment.I was waitingit for twodecades andfor the lastthree years when I had filed petition in theapex court for commuting I was more ofthe view he(my husband)must not behanged as he is mentally ill and only nowmy voice has been heard.”
VANCOUVER – The family of the condemneddeath row prisoner Prof.Devinderpal Singh Bhullar has highlywelcomed the apex court verdict of commutingdeath sentence into life imprisonment.For the family the Tuesday judgment hasturned out to be most sought after verdictwhich the family was waiting foryears. The family though was highly saddenedwith its earlier petition rejected bythe apex court wherein the delay in disposingthe mercy petition by President ofIndia was not considered valid to commutedeath sentence but the latest judgmenthas given it the new ray of hope. Asper judgment death sentence of condemnedprisoner cannot be executed ifhe is suffering from mental illness andschizophrenia and must be commuted tolife imprisonment.Devinderpal Bhullar’ wife Navnit Kaurtold the Times of India over the phonefrom Vancouver: “I have got the biggestrelief of my life in court commutingdeath sentence into life imprisonment. Iwas waiting it for two decades and for thelast three years when I had filed petitionin the apex court for commuting I wasmore of the view he(my husband)mustnot be hanged as he is mentally ill andonly now my voice has been heard.””I am thankful to Almighty that not onlyBhullar but 14 others too have been givenrelief as only I know how the familiesgets shattered when your family memberis waiting death in condemned cell, shesaid from Vancouver. Let me go throughthe complete judgment only then I will befully relieved, she said adding as I am notfeeling well I could not travel to India tobe at Delhi to listen the deliverance ofjudgment,” she said Native of village Dialpura Bhaika inBathinda, Devinderpal was on death rowfor car bombing at Delhi in 1993 where 9people had died and then youth congresspresident Maniderjit Singh Bitta had gotinjured. The Punjab government, reveredAkal Takhat Jathedar and a host of Sikhorganizations had started a campaign forcommuting of the death sentence of thecondemned prisoner. The state governmenthad approached the Prime Ministerand the President for it.SAD(Panch Pardhani)acting presidentHarpal Singh Cheema said finally we aresatisfied over the apex court commutingdeath sentence of Devinderpal Bhullar.Disagreeing with an earlier judgmentwhich had rejected the plea for commutingsentence on the issue of inordinatedelay in disposing the case, the court hascommuted death sentence.
