The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Government to obtain inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on the proposed transfer of Jagtar Singh Hawara, convicted in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, from Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab. The Court indicated that the request raises sensitive security and law-and-order concerns that require careful consideration before a decision can be taken.
A Bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale considered Hawara’s plea seeking a transfer to a Punjab prison. The Bench observed that the matter involved security assessments beyond the Court’s independent expertise and indicated that it would seek the benefit of intelligence inputs before proceeding further.
Appearing for the Delhi Government, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati opposed the transfer, citing concerns over the possible consequences for public order in Punjab. She referred to Hawara’s involvement in an earlier jailbreak and pointed out that his death sentence in the assassination case had subsequently been commuted to life imprisonment.
The law officer also relied on the Punjab Government’s position that transferring Hawara to a prison in the State could adversely affect the law-and-order situation. She referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ advisory concerning the transfer of high-risk prisoners and argued that the security implications of the proposed move could not be overlooked.
The Bench indicated that it would not disregard the concerns expressed by the concerned governments in a matter involving such sensitive considerations. It sought intelligence inputs to assist its assessment of the competing considerations surrounding the transfer request.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Hawara, urged the Court to consider the circumstances underlying the plea. He submitted that the assassination took place more than three decades ago, when Hawara was 21 years old, and emphasised that the request was for transfer to a high-security prison in Punjab, not for release from custody.
Gonsalves also referred to Hawara’s elderly mother, whose health he said was serious, and argued that his client had maintained an unblemished record in prison apart from the earlier jailbreak incident.
Hawara has sought relocation from Tihar Jail on the ground that the case for which he is serving his sentence arose in Punjab and that no criminal case against him is pending in Delhi. His plea also relies on his conduct during incarceration and his family circumstances in support of the requested transfer.
The Supreme Court had earlier issued notice to the Union Government, the Chandigarh Administration, and the governments of Delhi and Punjab on the plea. The transfer request has since been opposed on security grounds, with the authorities raising concerns about the implications of lodging him in a prison in Punjab.
Hawara was convicted in connection with the August 31, 1995, bombing outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, which killed Beant Singh and 16 others. A trial court sentenced him to death in 2007, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court commuted the sentence to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life in 2010.
In January 2004, Hawara escaped from the high-security Burail Jail in Chandigarh along with other inmates through a tunnel. He was subsequently apprehended. The earlier escape has remained a significant factor in the authorities’ objections to his proposed transfer.
The Supreme Court’s consideration of the transfer plea will therefore involve balancing Hawara’s grounds for seeking relocation against the security and public-order concerns raised by the governments concerned. The Intelligence Bureau’s assessment is expected to assist the Court in examining those concerns before deciding the request.
Case Title: Jagtar Singh Hawara v. Government of NCT of Delhi
Bench: Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale
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