Beant Singh murder: SC defers hearing on Hawara’s plea for transfer to Punjab jail

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred by two weeks the hearing on the 1995 Beant Singh murder case convict Jagtar Singh Hawara’s petition seeking his transfer from Tihar Jail in the national capital to a jail in Punjab.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai adjourned the hearing. CJI Gavai is due to retire on November 23.

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 has contended that all co-accused involved in the jail break 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.

Former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 16 others were killed on August 31, 1995 in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. Hawara was arrested on September 21, 1995.

A special CBI court had awarded the death sentence to Balwant Singh Rajoana and Jagtar Singh 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 chief minister.

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 Supreme Court. Rajoana’s mercy petition has been hanging fire for more than 12 years.

The top court had on September 27, 2024 issued notice to the Centre and the governments of Delhi and Punjab on Hawara’s petition seeking his transfer from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a jail in Punjab.

Hawara – who escaped from high security Burail jail on January 22, 2004 — was re-arrested after a year and put back in jail.

“Petitioner (Hawara) had 36 false cases foisted on him after the murder of the Chief Minister Beant Singh. He has been acquitted in all, except one case. He is unable to attend the court proceedings on account of his incarceration in Delhi. He is not being produced in court and the proceedings are going on without him which is prejudicial to the petitioner…,” he submitted.