)
The Supreme Court today dismissed death row convict and Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar's plea for commutation of his death sentence, a ruling that can have an impact on 17 other convicts, including those held guilty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, facing execution.
Delivering the operative portion of the judgement in a packed room, a bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said that the petitioners for Bhullar failed to make out a case for commutation of sentence.
Today's decision will pave the way for his hanging and could have an impact on 17 other convicts on the death row, including those held guilty in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and those belonging to sandalwood smuggler Veerappan's group.
48-year-old Bhullar's Canada-based wife, Navneet Kaur, who was present in the court, expressed disappointment over the verdict. The government can still intervene to save her husband's life, she said in her reaction to the judgement.
She said Bhullar has been suffering from mental illness and has been under treatment for it.
