The Supreme Court on Friday called for responses from the Centre, along with the Delhi and Punjab governments, regarding a petition filed by Jagtar Singh Hawara, a convicted Babbar Khalsa terrorist, requesting a transfer from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a prison in Punjab. Hawara is currently serving a life sentence for the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995, a case that also led to the deaths of 16 others.
The plea, represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and filed through advocate Satya Mitra, argues that since there are no pending cases against Hawara in Delhi, his continued imprisonment there is unwarranted. The petition highlights that Hawara’s native state is Punjab, and he should, therefore, be confined in a prison there. It also mentions that his conduct in prison has been exemplary over the past 19 years since his re-arrest following a 2004 jailbreak.
During the proceedings, Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan questioned Gonsalves about the details of the 2004 escape, inquiring how Hawara was able to dig a tunnel from the prison. Gonsalves pointed out the significant time that has elapsed since both the assassination and the jailbreak, suggesting a change in circumstances that could warrant a transfer.
The petition also requests that the court review all records of Hawara’s prison conduct to date. It emphasizes the unfairness of keeping him in Delhi when the only ongoing case is registered in Chandigarh, making it applicable under Punjab’s jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the plea underscores personal reasons for the transfer, noting that Hawara’s daughter resides in Punjab, and his mother is currently in a coma in the USA, following the death of his wife. These familial circumstances add a human element to his request.
In 2007, a trial court sentenced Hawara to death, but this was commuted to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010 with the stipulation that he would not be released for the remainder of his life. Appeals against this decision, by both Hawara and the prosecution, are still pending in the Supreme Court.
