The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi government to obtain Intelligence Bureau (IB) inputs on whether Jagtar Singh Hawara, serving a life sentence in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, can be transferred from Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab. The Court said security and law-and-order concerns must be examined before deciding his request.
Background
A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale was hearing Hawara’s plea seeking transfer to Punjab. He has argued that being lodged in Delhi makes it difficult to participate in proceedings in Punjab and maintain contact with his family. His counsel, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, also highlighted the humanitarian aspect of the request.
The Punjab government has opposed the transfer, citing concerns about public order, communal harmony and security. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Delhi government, referred to Hawara’s past escape from prison and a Ministry of Home Affairs advisory concerning the transfer of high-risk prisoners between states.
Justice Sundresh acknowledged the importance of family contact for prisoners but said the potential consequences of the transfer required careful consideration.
“Every sinner has a future. See, people say if you kill a single person, you are a murderer, but if you kill 1,000 persons, you are a conqueror. So that is the difference. But we will have to look at the implications. He (Hawara) should not trigger something,” the judge observed.
The Bench also emphasised that it could not independently determine whether the transfer might create a law-and-order problem without obtaining the relevant security assessment.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves argued that the incidents relied upon by the authorities dated back many years and urged the Court to consider the circumstances of Hawara’s prolonged incarceration.
The Supreme Court directed the Delhi government to obtain the Intelligence Bureau’s inputs on the proposed transfer.
The Court will consider the request after receiving the necessary instructions, keeping the security and law-and-order concerns in view.
