Indian court commutes death penalty for car bomber to life term

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court on Monday spared a Sikh militant convicted of a deadly car bombing two decades ago from execution, citing his mental illness and lengthy delays in deciding on his plea for mercy. The court commuted Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar’s death sentence to life in jail in the latest such decision since a landmark ruling placed new restrictions on executing prisoners in the world’s biggest democracy. Bhullar, who developed mental illness in prison, has been languishing on death row since he was convicted of the 1993 car bombing in New Delhi that killed nine people and injured more than 20. "Mental illness, schizophrenia and insanity are grounds for commuting the death penalty in Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar’s case," Chief Justice P. Sathasivam told the court. "His medical report shows he is suffering from acute mental illness and there has been unexplained and unreasonable delays in deciding his mercy plea by eight years," said Sathasivam, head of a four-judge bench. Bhullar’s wife had appealed to the court for clemency, after losing several legal appeals and after the country’s president rejected his plea for mercy in 2011 following an eight-year delay.