120413 Sikh Channel Report - Professor Bhullar mercy plea rejected by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the death sentence imposed on Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar cannot be commuted to life imprisonment because of a delay in execution. The court has rejected an appeal by Professor Bhullar against his against his execution on the grounds that his petition for mercy was kept pending by the President of the country for eight years. He was given the death sentence for killing nine people with a car bomb in Delhi in 1993. Bhullar's wife was in court when the verdict against him was announced. "The court didn't consider our points," she said. Bhullar's family and friends say that his time in prison has affected his mental health. Activists and lawyers for Bhullar and other prisoners have said that inordinate delays in deciding requests for clemency amount to cruelty and violate the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.