NEW DELHI, India—Acting on a petition moved by Maninderjit Singh Bitta, the Supreme Court of India stayed the premature release of political Sikh prisoner Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar on December 17. It is learnt that a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman ordered “status quo” on Bhullar’s release.
Available information reveals that Bitta’s lawyer Nidhesh Gupta claimed before the SC bench that Indian government’s decision to grant premature release was against SC orders, including two Constitution Bench verdicts.
It is noteworthy here that Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar is serving life sentence in a case pertaining to attack on the then Youth Congress Chief Maninderjit Singh Bitta in 1993. Initially, Prof. Bhullar was sentenced to death but later his death sentence was commuted to life sentence in 2014.
Prof. Bhullar’s name was among the list of political Sikh prisoners who were expected to be released by the Indian government on the eve of the 550th Parkash Purab of Guru Nanak Sahib.
