The issue of Bhullar’s release had resurfaced in recent months after Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney urged the Delhi Government to convene the SRB and reconsider the case
10 February, 2026 – New Delhi : 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 held on December 23, 2025. Of these, 24 cases were rejected. Bhullar’s name figured among those denied early release.
Bhullar has been in prison for over three decades for his role in the 1993 car bomb blast in Delhi that killed nine people and injured several others. The attack had targeted then Indian Youth Congress president M S Bitta, who was among those injured.
Bhullar 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 had resurfaced in recent months after Rajya Sabha MP 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 Gurpurab on November 5, Sahney had said Bhullar had completed more than 30 years in jail and was entitled to a fair review in line with Supreme Court directions.
Sahney had also pointed out that during the previous SRB meeting held 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 National Commission for Minorities chairman Tarlochan Singh had also written to the Chief Minister, seeking an early SRB meeting. He had flagged Bhullar’s long hospitalisation and argued that the delay in taking a decision 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 and former Indian Youth Congress president Bitta wrote to the Chief Minister and Tihar Jail authorities opposing any move towards Bhullar’s permanent release. He warned that releasing Bhullar would pose a serious threat to national security and could revive extremist networks.
Recalling the 1993 attack, Bitta said the focus must remain on the victims and their families, many of whom continue to live with permanent loss and disability. He argued that the scale of human suffering caused by the blast could not be diluted or weighed against claims of compassion or political considerations.
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.
The Tribune