The Punjab government on Tuesday opposed the petition of Jagtar Singh Hawara in the Supreme Court, who is serving life imprisonment in the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995. He has demanded transfer from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a jail in Punjab. Arguments were presented before the bench of Justice BR Gawai and K Vinod Chandran.
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the Supreme Court that Jagtar Hawara was earlier lodged in the jail in Chandigarh. Senior advocate Colin Gonzalvis, appearing for Jagtar Hawara, asked the court whether Chandigarh had been made a party in the petition. On this, he said that he will also make Chandigarh a party. The bench has issued notice to the Center Chandigarh administration.
It has sought an answer on Hawara’s petition within 4 weeks. The Advocate General said that Hawara had filed a petition demanding a similar relief in the Delhi High Court in the year 2018, but it was rejected. He said that he was relying on Punjab jail manual, which was not applicable to him, because he was prosecuted in Chandigarh.
In court, Gurminder Singh said, “He has no claim in Punjab. If he is to be transferred, it will be Chandigarh.” On this, Colin Gonsalves said that Hawara’s petition has demanded a transfer to any jail in Punjab. Her family has only her daughter. She lives in Punjab. In September last year, the Supreme Court sought an answer on Hawara’s petition.
Jagtar Hawara is serving a life sentence in the case related to the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in the blast in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. 16 people were killed in this explosion. The petition filed in the Supreme Court states that Hawara’s conduct in the jail was good. But he ran away in the jail break on January 22, 2004.
He was arrested after his absconding. The petition filed through a lawyer Satya Mitra demanded the transfer of Jagtar Hawara to jail, stating that no case against him is pending in the national capital. It says that after the jail break, 19 years have passed since his arrest till date.
The behavior of the petitioner in the jail has been immaculate. It was also said that after the murder of Beant Singh, 36 false cases were registered against the petitioner. He was acquitted in everyone except one case. A similar person was convicted in the same murder and he was also part of the jail break, he was transferred from Tihar Jail to Chandigarh jail.