Sikh Council Condemns Indian Supreme Court Decision on Professor Bhullar
Sikh Council UK today expressed its concern and condemned the refusal to commute the death sentence of Professor Devinderpal Singh Bhullar by the Indian Supreme Court. This decision comes on the back of India’s recent decision to restart carrying out death sentences following an eight year moratorium. Two death sentences have been carried out since November 2012 with many hundreds more sentenced to death each year and around forty currently held on death row.
Chair of Indian Sub-Continent Affairs Sub-Committee, Gurdial Singh Atwal, said, “We totally condemn the use of capital punishment and the decision by India to restart capital punishment is totally abhorrent after the moratorium. In this particular case, the evidence against Professor Bhullar is clearly in doubt and to not recognise that is a great miscarriage of justice by the Indian justice system.”
The Sikh community has consistently held strong views against capital punishment with persistent campaigning to highlight miscarriages of justice and against the death penalty by the Sikh Federation (UK) and others over many years. This stance was recently reinforced by a 118,000 name petition coordinated by the Keshri Lehar campaign which resulted in a parliamentary debate on abolition of the death penalty in India. Gurdial Singh Atwal added,
“Professor Bhullar was deported wrongly by the German authorities on false promises that he would not face the death penalty. We now call upon authorities in the UK, Germany and across Europe to urgently make representations to India before it is too late.”
Sikh Council UK has many affiliated organisations and works with many other individuals and organisations who wish to express their strong views and campaign against this latest turn of events. Sikh Council UK is encouraging the UK wide Sikh community to speak out on this issue by contacting their MP’s and the media to highlight the plight of Professor Bhullar
Sikh Council UK is eagerly awaiting the written judgement of the Indian Supreme Court and in order to maximise the Sikh voice, will be assisting various Sikh organisations in the co-ordination and planning of protests and lobbying activities over the coming days.
