Chandigarh: The Supreme Court of India, on Friday (27 September 2024) issued a notice to the Union Government concerning a petition filed for the transfer of Sikh political prisoner Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a prison in Punjab. Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara is currently serving a life sentence related to the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.
The plea, brought forth by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, emphasized that Hawara’s conduct in prison has been clear, except for an incident in 2004 when he escaped through a tunnel.
“How were you (Hawara) successful in digging a tunnel,” the bench asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who appeared for Hawara.
Advocate Colin Gonsalves said, “Today, we are almost 30 years from the main incident and we are 20 years from the jail break.”
The bench issued notice on his plea and posted it for hearing after four weeks.
The petition argued that Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara, a native of Fategarh Sahib district in Punjab, should be housed in a prison within his home state of Punjab. It highlighted that he is currently serving life imprisonment for a case registered in Punjab and has no pending cases in Delhi.
“Petitioner (Hawara) is currently serving his life imprisonment till the rest of his life in a case registered in the state of Punjab… He ought to be confined in a prison in Punjab,” the petition asserted.
Additionally, the plea noted that Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara has faced 36 false cases since the murder of Beant Singh, with acquittals in all but one.
The petition states that there is no legal basis for Hawara’s detention in Delhi, particularly as his ongoing life sentence is governed by the rules of the state of Punjab.