The Punjab Government on Tuesday opposed ex-CM Beant Singh murder case convict Jagtar Singh Hawara’s petition seeking his transfer from Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab, saying he couldn’t be shifted to the state as he was tried in Chandigarh.
“In Punjab, he has no claim. If at all he is to be transferred, it is to the UT of Chandigarh,” Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told a Bench led by Justice BR Gavai. He said a similar petition filed by Hawara was dismissed by the Delhi High Court in 2018.
The Advocate General submitted that Hawara was tried in Chandigarh where he was involved in a jailbreak and the Punjab prison rules would not be applicable to Chandigarh. He said Delhi had taken a stand that Hawara couldn’t be transferred to Punjab as it was a border state.
The Bench asked the Centre, Delhi Government and the Chandigarh Administration to respond within four weeks to Hawara’s petition and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Hawara (54) has sought his transfer to a Punjab jail on grounds that he demonstrated good conduct in jail, the crime was committed at a time of social unrest and his daughter lived in Punjab. He contended that all co-accused involved in the jailbreak were in Punjab jails and the Director General (Prisons) recommended his transfer to a jail in Punjab almost eight years ago on October 7, 2016. He also claimed that there was not a single case pending against him in Delhi and that he was unable to attend proceedings in a case pending in Punjab.
As Chandigarh was not a party to the case, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, representing Hawara, said he would implead the Chandigarh Administration. Gonsalves said Hawara had a 14-year-old daughter but he had no access to her. “All other convicts in the case are in Punjab,” he submitted.
A special CBI court had awarded death sentence to Balwant Singh Rajoana and Hawara in 2007 while co-accused Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment for hatching a conspiracy to assassinate the former CM. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October 2010 modified Hawara’s sentence to life imprisonment for the rest of his life and the prosecution’s appeal against the high court’s order was pending in the SC. Rajoana’s mercy petition has been hanging fire for more than 12 years.
