NBWs against Beant killers as UT rejects release plea

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

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Chandigarh, March 4

Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Aman Inder Singh Sandhu has issued a non-bailable warrant against Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh, both convicts in the Beant Singh assassination case.

Had got bail on HC orders

• The CJM had granted bail to Gurmeet and Shamsher last year in view of an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to release all those convicts on regular bail, who had completed their life sentences, but the decision on the premature release is pending.
• The convicts were given bail on an undertaking by their families if the premature release of convicts being rejected by the government, they would return to their jails

The court issued non-bailable warrants against both after their premature release requests had been declined by the Chandigarh Administration and they failed to surrender before the jail staff despite notices.

The court of the CJM had granted bail to Gurmeet on June 2, 2023, and Shamsher on September 20, 2023, on sureties of Rs 2 lakh each. The CJM court granted bail to both in view of an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2023 to release all those convicts on regular bail, who had completed their life sentences, but the decision with regard to their premature release was pending.

The court in the orders said the convicts were given bail on the basis of two sureties along with an undertaking by their families that in the event of premature release of convicts being rejected by the government, they will return to their jails to undergo further imprisonment. The court had issued the non-bailable warrants of the convicts through the DGP, Chandigarh.

The court said the notice issued to convict Shamsher Singh had been received back with the report that he had gone outside while the house of Gurmeet Singh was found locked. The court said bail bonds of the convicts stood cancelled.

Shamsher and Gurmeet were awarded life imprisonment by the special CBI court on August 1, 2007. Both convicts have been behind the bars for more than 25 years.