Bhullar's parole a right step in the right direction: H S Phoolka

New Delhi: Senior advocate and activist H S Phoolka on Saturday welcomed the parole granted to 1993 Delhi blast accused Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, describing it as a 'right step in the right direction'.

Phoolka said that denying a sick prisoner a right to meet his family is inhumane.

"Bhulaar has been sick for a long time and event the Supreme Court judge had acquitted him. Bhullar should have been granted parole much earlier for his treatment and to meet his family. This is a right step in the right direction," he told ANI.

The Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) militant was granted a 21-day parole today on health grounds.

Bhullar's family has been pressing the authorities for his parole ever since the psychiatrist who examined him confirmed that he suffers from high blood pressure and severe depression.

Earlier this month, he was acquitted in a 21-year-old Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act case that pertains to an encounter of a police party being ambushed by a group of militants.

Despite his acquittal in the TADA case, Bhullar will continue to remain under detention for his involvement in the September 1993 blast outside the headquarters of the All India Youth Congress (AIYC) in New Delhi, resulting in death of eight persons.

Bhullar's death sentence, awarded to him in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case, was commuted by the Supreme Court into life imprisonment in 2014. His family has been making efforts for his parole since then.