THE Supreme Court today asked the government to hand over original files of all 18 mercy petitions pending before President Pratibha Patil,including that of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru,to see if there has been any inordinate delay by the Executive in processing the clemency pleas. In case it finds this to be the case,the court indicated,it could issue notices to both the Centre and the convicts on the question of commutation of their sentences to life. Justifying its decision to review the mercy process in the 18 cases,which have been pending for one to seven years,the Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said that many death row convicts may not have had the resources to approach the Supreme Court on the Executive delay. The Bench was hearing a plea by Devender Pal Singh Bhullar,who wants the court to commute his death penalty to life because of the years he spent in solitary confinement waiting for a final decision on his mercy plea. Bhullar had sought mercy from the President on January 14,2003,but his petition was dismissed only on May 25,2011. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in Delhi. Bhullars lawyer K T S Tulsi defended the court decision to call for records from the President,saying it is not an encroachment into the Executives domain. There is no such thing that a President is immune. There are decisions of the SC saying that if there is an inordinate delay to decide a mercy plea,then death sentence can be commuted, Tulsi said.
