The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to take a decision on Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s fresh mercy petition by March 27, failing which it will proceed to decide on his plea to commute his death penalty to life imprisonment. “If you inform us on the next date (about the decision taken), it is well and good. or we will decide the case ourselves,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam told Attorney General G E Vahanvati. It said there have been cases recently where the government did not take the advice of its law officers seriously. On February 26, the Centre had assured the court that Bhullar would not be executed in his present health condition. It also sought two weeks to send the mercy petition, moved by Bhullar’s wife last April, to the President for a final decision. The curative petition filed by Bhullar’s wife, Navneet, got a fresh lease of life after a constitution bench of the apex court recently ruled that mental illness was also a ground to seek commutation. Staying Bhullar’s execution, the court had on January 31 sought to know why his death sentence should not be be commuted because of the delay in deciding his mercy plea and in view of his mental illness.
