Former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh Assassination Case: SC Issues Notice On Jagtar Singh Hawara’s Plea For Transfer From Tihar Jail To Any Jail in Punjab

On September 27, 2024 (Today), the Supreme Court (SC) bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan issued a notice in the petition filed by Jagtar Singh Hawara seeking transfer from Tihar jail, Delhi to any jail in Punjab on the grounds that ‘his conduct in jail is good’. He was convicted in 1995 assassination of former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh and 16 others. Jagtar Singh Hawara was convicted under Section 120(B), Section 302, and Section 307 of the India Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(b), Section 4(b), and Section 5(b) read with Section 6 of the Explosives Substances Act, 1908. 

Hawara’s petition filed through Advocate Satya Mitra said, “His conduct in jail has been clear except for an alleged jailbreak that took place on January 22, 2004, when he escaped. He was caught approximately after one year and returned to prison in 2005. Since then, his performance in jail has been without any blemish. He is 54 years old today. The petitioner was incarcerated in jails in Punjab. After he was arrested in 2005, the petitioner was incarcerated in Tihar Jail, Delhi, where he remains to this day.” It added, “From the re-arrest of the petitioner after the jailbreak until today, 19 years have passed, and the performance of the petitioner in jail has been without blemish. The petitioner has sought a report of his conduct in prison in Delhi from the jail authorities, which is yet to be provided to him.”

Furthermore, the petition reads, “The question that arises, in this case, is whether a person who has been accused of committing murder in the context of serious social upheaval, where tens of thousands of young Sikhs were extrajudicially executed by the State Police on the instructions of the deceased Chief Minister Beant Singh--an offence characterized as exacerbated by his unsuccessful jailbreak attempt--but who has, for the last 19 years, led a life in prison that is without blemish, can seek an order from this court for transfer to a jail in Punjab. Also, what is important to note is that there is not a single case pending against the accused in Delhi.”

During the trial, the petitioner was lodged in Budhail Jail, Chandigarh, where he dug a tunnel and absconded in 2004. Within one year, he was re-arrested in another case and was transmitted from Chandigarh to Delhi Jail. His conviction was confirmed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court on October 12, 2010, but the HC commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment for the rest of his life. In 2018, a transfer petition was filed before the Delhi High Court by the petitioner which was dismissed. Today, the SC bench issued a notice in the matter and listed the matter for hearing after 4 weeks.