After holding meetings with Indian Home Minister and writing to the CMs of other states seeking release of Sikh prisoners, the Punjab government is heading on an escape route regarding the issue of Sikh Political Prisoners.
The Punjab government today got published an advertisement in certain newspapers which carries ‘questions & answers’ related to the issue of Sikh political prisoners.
In answer to first self-posed question, the Punjab government says ‘there are no prisoners in Punjab who have completed the terms of their sentences’.
In second, it says the ‘imprisonment for life’ means imprisonment till the death of a life term convict.
In answer to third question the Badal government says that life term convicts are released after completing 14, 18 or 20 years of imprisonment by the government in pursuance of ‘prisoner transformation policies’.
On fourth count it says ‘it is not the right of a prisoner to get released after having completed the minimum mandatory term of 14, 18 or 20 years, rather the release of such prisoner is prerogative of the state/ concerned government.
In answer to fifth question the Punjab government says that it is not with in the prerogative of Punjab government to release any of the seven prisoners whose release is being demanded (by Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa). It says three cases (Gurmeet Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Shamsher Singh) falls under the jurisdiction of Chandigarh (U.T.), one (Wariam Singh) under UP government, one (Gurdeep Singh Khehra) under Karnataka government, one (Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar) under Delhi government (U.T.) and one (Lal Singh) under Gujrat Government.
In answer to sixth self-posted question regarding list of 120 Sikh Political Prisoners issued by Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, who (as presumed by Punjab Government) have completed imprisonment for life, the Punjab government says: this list is analyzed by the Punjab government and it was found that the list was factually in-correct. Punjab government says: the list included 12 persons who have already been released after being acquitted by respective courts, whereas 34 persons are released on bail and 17 persons are sentenced to imprisonment of 10 years and are awaiting for competition of their terms. There are 16 under-trial persons who are included in the list. There are 3 persons who are sentenced by courts of other states; though they are confined in Punjab’s jails, their cases falls under the jurisdiction of other states. There are 3 persons who are sentenced by Punjab state’s courts for imprisonment for life but they have not completed 14 years in jails. One person has been sentenced to death and identity of seven persons could not be established. On tenth count of answer the Punjab government says that there are only 2 persons Baj Singh and Hardeep Singh in Punjab whose case could not be considered for permanent release due to restrain placed by the Supreme Court of India in an order dated 9.7.2014 which says ‘In the meanwhile, the State Governments are restrained from exercising power of remission of life convicts’.
In answer to next question the government says that it would ‘soon’ move application to the Supreme Court of India with regards to the restrain order.
In answer to last question the Punjab government said that it has only raised the issue of those only prisoners, who have completed their sentences, with the government of India and the governments of other states, and it would continue to do so.
Rebuttal to Punjab government’s propaganda:
Fundamental Problem with Badal government’s approach:
Punjab government’s approach towards the issue of Sikh political prisoners is fundamentally defected. An analysis of government’s approach makes it clear that the government denies to recognize the ‘political’ status of these Sikh prisoners and it is dealing with the issue as if it was an issue of ordinary prisoners requiring only legal considerations. Political issues need to be addressed politically and legal routes are either found or created to solve these issues. And the issue of Sikh political prisoners is not an exception to it. The defected approach of the Badal government also exposes the fact that the government is not sincere on this issue.
On the issue of ‘Imprisonment for Life’ :
It is correct that theoretically imprisonment for life means imprisonment for entire life of a convict remaining after the sentence.
But when one is dealing with an issue at hand, it is more important to take practical aspects i.e. the real and prevalent practice into consideration instead of using theoretical stances as a shield to find escape routes.
Punjab government has itself cleared that using their prerogative the appropriate governments grant premature release to life term convicts after having completed 14, 18 or 20 years in prison.
The core of the issue of Sikh political prisoners who have completed minimum mandatory terms of their sentence is that: ‘why various governments in Indian subcontinent are not using their (so-termed) prerogative in these cases to grant premature release to Sikh political prisoners’.
Premature release – a prerogative of government or a right of prisoner:
Badal government must be aware that such prerogatives are not absolute and they can not be used arbitrarily. Legally speaking such prerogatives are quasi-judicial in nature and the authority granted by such prerogative must be used with ‘judicial’ sense. In this way it turns to be the right of every life term convict to get his cases considered without any discrimination, and (legally speaking) the point related to the Sikh political prisoners issue is that concerned Sikh political prisoners (who have completed applicable minimum mandatory terms of their sentences) are denied this right.
Question of Imprisonment for life and cases of cops sentenced to imprisonment for life:
Badal government should explain that if there was no way to release a life term convict before 14 years how Inspector Gurmeet Singh Pinkey was released after serving 8 years in prison while he was sentenced to imprisonment for life?
And how DSP Swaran Dass, who was sentenced to imprisonment for life, was got released after 5 years even when his appeal was laying pending before the High court?
Is there two secret set of laws, one is applied in cases of Sikh political prisoners and other applies to the cases of human rights abuser cops? And, if there is only one standard of law then why Sikh political prisoners could not be released form prisoners even after serving more than 14, 18 or 20 years in prisons.
On the issue of Sikh political prisoners in Punjab who have completed 14 years term:
Punjab government contradicts with in it’s own ‘clarification’:
The concerned advertisement (as discussed above in the first part of this write-up) was said to clear the misinformation but it turns to be a handiwork aimed at transmitting misinformation, which is evident from big contradictions in the advertisement itself.
In answer to very first question the Punjab government says that ‘there were no prisoners in Punjab (whose case also falls with in the jurisdiction of Punjab government) who have completed 14 years jail term’.
But in answer to fifth question (answer sub-point 10) the Punjab government says that there are two Sikh prisoners in Punjab namely Baj Singh and Hardeep Singh who have completed the term of 14 years.
Punjab government goes worse on misinformation regarding case of Baj Singh and Hardeep Singh:
Punjab government says that there are only two (Sikh) prisoners in Punjab, who cases falls under Punjab government’s jurisdiction, who have completed 14 years in jail; but it adds that they can not be released as the SCI has placed a restrain order (dated: 9.7.2014).
(Do Punjab government believes that the Sikh activists are also ill-informed as the officials of Punjab government? Or it has not hesitation to go with it’s misinformation propaganda shamelessly).
It is notable that Baj Singh is jailed since 1993. He had completed 14 years term more than 6 years before the arrival of SCI restrain order.
Similarly Hardeep Singh had completed 14 years imprisonment in 2013 a year before the SCI put (so-called) restrain order. His custody details are: from 31-03-1993 to 04-02-1997, from 05-02-1997 to 07-08-2000, from 12-04-2006 to till date.
Most important point is that even Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed Punjab government to reconsider the case of Baj Singh and Hardeep Singh in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The High Court order had arrived much before the SCI put so-called restrain orders, but the Badal government did not consider their cases for premature release.
Case of Dilbagh Singh and Swaran Singh:
But this is not all, as there are two other Sikh political prisoners who were eligible for premature release.
One Sikh political prisoner Dilbagh Singh (jailed in Maximum Security Jail, Nabha) has already undergone more than 13 years actual imprisonment and 18 years with remissions. So in legal terms he has served 18 years imprisonment.
Similarly, Swaran Singh has also served 14 years in prison. He was not granted any remissions that were granted to other prisoners by the Punjab government. Punjab government is opposing his petition for premature release in Punjab and Haryana High Court.
On the list of 120 Sikh prisoners:
While talking to the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN), Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, who compiled and updates the list of Sikh political prisoners from time to time, said that the Punjab government is indulging into wrongful propaganda. He said that the list of Sikh political prisoners was first release in 2004. He said that the list keeps on changing with release (permanent or on bail) and fresh arrest.
He said that the tentative list of 119 Sikh political prisoners was released on December 10, 2013. The list was released publicly through media and social media. (See: List of 119 Sikh political prisoners lodged in Indian jails released by Sikh bodies).
He said that the list was updated on certain occasions after December 2013 and latest list was released on January 07, 2015 which included the names of 83 persons. [See: Sikh Advocate releases tentative list of 85 Sikh political prisoners in India (Nov. 23, 2014), and Tentative List Of Sikh Political Prisoners Jailed in Punjab and elsewhere in Indian Subcontinent (January 07, 2014)].
He rubbished Punjab government’s claim that ‘Manjhpur’s list names 120 persons who have completed their jail terms’. A simple reading of the list makes it clear that there are different categories in the list. In includes names of persons sentenced to death, imprisonment for life, 10 years or lesser sentences, under-trials and detainees aboard awaiting extradition etc.
It is notable that few days back the older (2013) list was tendered to Indian Home Minister by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) and Indian media outlets reported that the SGPC list included names of 120 persons who have completed 14 years in jail.
Advocate Manjhpur said that neither the Punjab government nor the SGPC ever consulted him over the list.
“I was never consulted by SGPC or the Punjab government on the list of Sikh Political prisoners. They are using older list on their own” said Advocate Manjhpur, while adding that “they are using older list irresponsibly (without consulting the compiler of the list) for the ‘intentions’ best known to him”.
“I am going to issue an open response to the Punjab government’s advertisement. Instead for blaming the (outdated) list, deliberately circulated by SGPC and the Punjab government itself, the Badal government should come clear regarding it’s fundamental position of the issue of Sikh political prisoners”.
Exercise of other options is not barred by the SCI restrain order:
There is no bar on the state governments to use other powers granted by Article 161 of the Indian Constitution. The SCI order bars states from granting remissions, but options available under Article 161 are: granting pardon, reprieve, suspension of sentence and commutation of sentence. There is no bar on granting these reliefs. Moreover, Indian President is not restrained from exercising powers granted under section 72 of the Indian Constitution.
Indian state and the Punjab government lacks political will to solve the issue of Sikh political prisoners:
So there is no legal or Constitutional bar to solve the issue of Sikh Political Prisoners. There is only one problem and that is ‘lack of political will’ to solve the issue.
Author, Paramjeet Singh (Gazi), is an advocate. He is also Editor of the Sikh Siyasat News.