The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred hearing a plea by Babbar Khalsa terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, undergoing life imprisonment for the 1995 assassination of former chief minister Beant Singh, seeking transfer from Delhi’s Tihar jail to a Punjab prison after inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) indicated that the move will have a “huge impact” on the assembly elections in the state due next year. The matter will now be heard after February 2027.
Hawara sought to be shifted to Punjab, where his 90-year-old mother and family stay. The court last month sought an IB view after the Delhi and Punjab governments and the Chandigarh administration expressed reservations about accepting the demand.
Court takes note of IB’s remarks
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale said, “Normally we would have no difficulty in considering this request. But what the agency has said is very damning.”
The court said the IB note says it will have a huge impact on the elections, especially in the present scenario when the issues are alive here and abroad.
Senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for Hawara, said, “If the elections is the reason, the court may keep this back. This may be heard after three months.”
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Muralidhar told the court that he did not have access to what the IB report says, but believes that the jails in Punjab are as secure as Tihar, to which the Union government cannot object.
The bench posted the matter after February, when the elections are expected to be over. In his petition, Hawara said that his mother is of advanced age and sought parole to visit his family.