By Arun Kumar

Washington, June 18 (IANS) A Sikh advocacy group is seeking UN intervention to save Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar who has been given the death penalty in a 1993 car bombing case in New Delhi.

Bhullar, a former Khalistan Commando Force militant, was given the death penalty in 2001 by a Delhi court under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA). President Pratibha Patil rejected his mercy petition last month.

In a statement Friday, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) said it will approach the United Nations to act on a 2008 UN General Assembly Resolution calling for abolition and moratorium on the use of death penalty by intervening to save Bhullar.

A memorandum seeking UN intervention in the case of Bhullar will be submitted to UN Secretary General July 25, it said. A rally to save Bhullar from "Judicial Murder" will also be held in New York City in front of UN that day.

According to SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant S. Pannun, the 2008 UN resolution requires all states that maintain death penalty to report to the United Nations information relating to the use of Capital Punishment.

It also requires states like India to establish a moratorium on the execution of death penalty.

The campaign and rally to save Bhullar has the support of World Coalition Against Death Penalty, American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International who have already launched a petition campaign to save Bhullar, he said.