NEWS
Indian SC Will Not Hear Davinderpal Singh Case Again

March 14, 2003

New Delhi -- The Supreme Court of India has decided not to admit the curative petition filed by Ram Jethmalani for a larger bench hearing of Davinderpal Singh case. The petition would essentially have allowed a five member Supreme Court panel to retry the case.

On December 17, 2002, the Supreme Court of India confirmed Davinderpal's death sentence. He was found guilty of conspiring to kill the then Youth Congress leader Maninderjit Singh in a 1993 car bomb attack in New Delhi which killed nine people. The death sentence, however, was passed by a split verdict in the Supreme Court of India for the first time in its history.

A meeting of five judges of the Supreme Court of India was held on March 11, 2003. Though no decision was made public at that time, an order of the court dated March 12, 2003, was handed out the next day.

According to Jagmohan Singh, General Secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), unless a fresh review petition under any other provision of the Indian constitution is filed, admitted and heard, the only last recourse is a clemency plea before the President of India.

A clemency plea was submitted to the President of India in January, 2003. The President may act upon the advice of his council of ministers or he may reject the advice as well, but it is not normally done.

Delegations of Sikh leaders from Punjab and human rights organizations from India and from other parts of the world have made serious efforts in approaching the ministers of the government of India. The Sikhs are asking that the Indian government reduce the sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment.

protest

A February 26 press release by the International Human Rights Organization (Ludhiana) stated that The Prof. Devinderpal Singh Defence Committee, after gaining the support of entire Sikh Panth on the model of Sarbat Khalsa at Amb Sahib Gurdwara (Mohali) last month, will hold a demonstration in Delhi on March 30, 2003.

The meeting, which was attended by representatives of all Punjab Sikh political parties, kisan unions, religious organisations and institutions (including SGPC and DSGMC), human rights groups and scholars, unanimously resolved to protest against the imposition of the death penalty. The demonstration in Delhi intends to highlight that minorities are targeted for the capital punishment, with special reference to Davinderpal Singh.

At the meeting, the SGPC took up the responsibility to render legal aid to all the Sikh activists who are facing trials in courts throughout India, and help their families in case of dire needs. Kanwaljit Singh of the SAD and Jathedar Sucha Singh ensured the meet that they will move a resolution against the imposition of death penalty in the Punjab Assembly.

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