The judge sits on judgment and decides a certain life must cease to exist. The judge has watched over the performances of the prosecution and the defense. The arguments have been put forward and a decision made. Language, logic and constructions to prove and to defend. A few good people on both sides do the best to their capacities and capabilities. One person mostly a mute spectator watches these characters perform and finally their abilities will decide whether this person lives or dies. The prosecution performs better or so the judge thinks and decides the person should cease to exist. All of this is being enacted in a 21st century court of the most populous democracy of the world and one that lives by the principles of Gandhi the epitome of peace.

Devender Pal Singh Bhullar a 39 years old lecturer of Electronics Engineering is one such example of India’s skewed system of capital punishment. A man sentenced to death for an alleged confession made not in the presence of a magistrate but in police custody; a police that is notorious for torture, disappearances and getting confession through threat and physical torture. Bhullar’s father was disappeared by the police in January 1991 and his family was continually harassed. He then decided to leave India for a safer place. He went to Germany and sought asylum. His plea was rejected by the German Government.
He was finally deported to India on January 19, 1995 and was arrested and charged with carrying forged passport and false documents under sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 12 of the Passport Act.
He was further booked in a case relating to a car bomb explosion in New Delhi in 1993 after he had allegedly made a “confession” while in police remand. The car bomb was apparently used in an attempt to assassinate Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, a politician. Although Mr. Bitta escaped with minor injuries, some of his guards and associates died. Besides, Mr. Bhullar, Mr. Daya Singh Lahoria and two other persons were named in the case. Mr. Daya Singh Lahoria was acquitted by the trial Court for lack of evidence. The two other accused were not brought to trial as their whereabouts were not known. Mr. Bhullar was tried by the designated court-I, Delhi, under TADA (Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Act). His trial lasted for six years and he was sentenced to death on August 25, 2001.
As Amnesty International says, “The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments.” As the statistics on their website points out very few countries actually practice capital punishment a ritual carried on from the medieval ages in the 21st century.

• 89 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes;
• 10 countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes;
• 30 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions,
• making a total of 129 countries which have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
• 68 other countries and territories retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which actually execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller.