Delhi Govt rejects blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar's plea for early release
Spent over 30 years in jail; SC commuted his death sentence in 2014
The Delhi Government has rejected the plea for the premature release of 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, following a meeting of the Sentence Review Board (SRB) held in December last year. Officials said the decision was formally communicated this month.
According to a letter issued to the Director General of Prisons, Tihar, on February 5, the SRB considered 51 cases for premature release in its meeting on December 23, 2025. Of these, 24 were rejected, including Bhullar’s.
Bhullar has been in prison for over three decades for his role in the 1993 car bomb blast in Delhi that killed nine persons and injured several others. The attack targeted then Indian Youth Congress president MS Bitta, who was among those injured.
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He was convicted by a designated TADA court on August 25, 2001. His death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in March 2014, citing an eight-year delay in the disposal of his mercy petition.
The issue of Bhullar’s release resurfaced in recent months after Rajya Sabha MP Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney urged the Delhi Government to convene the SRB and reconsider the case. Writing to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ahead of Guru Nanak Dev’s Gurpurb on November 5, Sahney noted that Bhullar had completed more than 30 years in jail and was entitled to a fair review in line with Supreme Court directions.
Sahney also pointed out that during the previous SRB meeting on December 21, 2023, the Delhi Government had recommended Bhullar’s release, but the proposal was rejected by a majority of six to one. He maintained that Bhullar’s prolonged incarceration and declining health warranted urgent consideration.
Former Rajya Sabha MP and former chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh had also written to the Chief Minister, seeking an early SRB meeting. He flagged Bhullar’s long hospitalisation and argued that delays in decision-making amounted to continued injustice.
However, the push for Bhullar’s release has faced strong opposition from victims’ groups and anti-terror voices. All-India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman Bitta wrote to the CM and Tihar Jail authorities opposing any move towards Bhullar’s permanent release. He warned that freeing Bhullar would pose a serious threat to national security and could revive extremist networks.
After his death sentence was commuted in 2014, Bhullar was granted parole for the first time in April 2016 for 21 days and has since received multiple extensions. His name also appeared in the Union Government’s 2019 list of prisoners considered for special remission to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
