SSRB rejects Bhullar’s plea for premature release again

Bhullar was awarded the death penalty by a designated TADA court in August 2001, which was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in 2014. Citing health grounds, he was shifted from Tihar Jail to Amritsar Central Jail in June 2015

The Delhi government’s State Sentence Review Board (SSRB) has once again rejected the plea for premature release of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who was convicted in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case, officials said on Tuesday.

Khalistan Liberation Force miiltant, Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, was convicted in the 1993 blast that killed nine people and injured 31 others. Among the survivors was former Youth Congress chief M.S. Bitta. (HT Archive)

The SSRB considered 51 cases for premature release at a meeting held in December last year, rejecting 24 applications, including Bhullar’s, official documents showed.

The SSRB, however, recommended the premature release of Hopeson Ningshen, a self-styled “lieutenant colonel” of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM), who was convicted for the abduction and killing of three Manipur government officials in Ukhrul district in February 2009. His release has been recommended subject to concurrence from the Centre, officials said.

Bhullar was convicted in the 1993 blast that killed nine people and injured 31 others. Among the survivors was former Youth Congress chief M.S. Bitta.

Bhullar was awarded the death penalty by a designated TADA court in August 2001, which was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in 2014. Citing health grounds, he was shifted from Tihar Jail to Amritsar Central Jail in June 2015.

Officials said the SSRB had deferred Bhullar’s case in 2022 despite references to his poor health and alleged vegetative state, and later rejected his premature release in 2024. Although the Centre, in September 2019, recommended special remission to eight Sikh prisoners, including Bhullar, to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, some SSRB members objected, citing the gravity of the offence and concerns that his release could embolden extremist sentiments.

The Delhi government’s home department, in an order issued last week, said the Lieutenant Governor has remitted the unexpired sentences of 26 life-term convicts on the SSRB’s recommendation.

Among those released is Nigerian national Kenneth Chidi Onyeaghala, sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2022 murder and robbery case. The order said he will be deported to his home country immediately after his release.