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The Supreme Court seeks Intelligence Bureau inputs as it considers Jagtar Singh Hawara’s plea to be transferred from Tihar Jail to Punjab. (Img: X)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought intelligence inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) while considering a plea by Jagtar Singh Hawara, convicted in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking his transfer from Delhi’s Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab. The Court is examining the request against the backdrop of security concerns and the possible implications of the transfer for public order.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Delhi Government, opposed Hawara’s plea, citing potential law-and-order concerns in Punjab. She referred to his involvement in an earlier jailbreak and submitted that the circumstances warranted a cautious approach to his request.
The Court was also apprised of the Punjab Government’s objections to the proposed transfer. The authorities have expressed apprehensions about the consequences of shifting Hawara to a prison in the State, given the nature of the case in which he was convicted and the security considerations associated with his custody.
The submissions also referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ advisory concerning the transfer of high-risk prisoners. The security implications of the proposed relocation were presented as a significant consideration in deciding whether Hawara could be moved to a Punjab prison.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Hawara, urged the Bench to consider the circumstances in which the case arose. He submitted that the assassination took place more than three decades ago, when Hawara was 21 years old, and emphasised that the plea concerned a transfer between prisons rather than a request for release.
Gonsalves also drew attention to Hawara’s elderly mother and her reportedly serious health condition, submitting that the family circumstances should be considered while deciding the request.
The counsel further relied on Hawara’s conduct during incarceration, arguing that his prison record, apart from the earlier jailbreak incident, supported his plea for relocation.
Hawara has sought transfer from Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab, contending that the criminal case for which he is serving his sentence arose in Punjab and that no criminal proceedings against him are pending in Delhi.
His plea seeks to distinguish a transfer to another high-security prison from any relaxation of his sentence or custodial status. The request has, however, encountered opposition from the authorities on security and public-order grounds.
The Supreme Court had earlier issued notice to the Union Government, the Chandigarh Administration, and the governments of Delhi and Punjab in connection with the plea.
Hawara was convicted in connection with the August 31, 1995, bombing outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, which killed former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and 16 others.
A trial court sentenced him to death in 2007. The Punjab and Haryana High Court subsequently commuted the death sentence in 2010 to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.
In January 2004, Hawara escaped from the high-security Burail Jail in Chandigarh through a tunnel along with other inmates. He was subsequently apprehended. The escape remains a key consideration in the authorities’ opposition to his proposed transfer.
The Intelligence Bureau’s inputs are expected to assist the Court in evaluating the security implications of the proposed transfer. The proceedings involve balancing the grounds advanced by Hawara in support of his relocation against the apprehensions raised by the governments concerned. The Court’s decision on the plea will determine whether Hawara can be transferred to a prison in Punjab despite the security objections raised by the authorities.
