States » NorthPosted at: Nov 3 2026 9:14PM


SC defers Beant Singh assassination convict Hawara’s jail transfer plea after IB warns of impact on Punjab polls

Chandigarh, Nov 3 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred until February 2027 the hearing on a plea by Jagtar Singh Hawara, convicted in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking transfer from Delhi's Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) warned that the move could have serious implications for the state's upcoming assembly elections.
A bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale took note of a confidential IB report describing Hawara as a high-risk prisoner and expressing apprehensions that his transfer could affect law and order and the political atmosphere ahead of the elections.
The court described the intelligence assessment as "very damning" and expressed concern that an order permitting his transfer at this stage could have far-reaching consequences.
The development means Hawara, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the assassination of Beant Singh, will remain in Tihar Jail for the time being.
Punjab is scheduled to hold elections to its 117-member assembly in early 2027.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the government, referred to the IB's assessment and opposed Hawara's transfer on security grounds.
Bhati pointed to Hawara's involvement in a 2004 jailbreak in Chandigarh, when he escaped from Burail Jail through a tunnel dug by prisoners. He was subsequently rearrested.
She argued that transferring a prisoner with such a history could increase security risks and referred to a union Home Ministry advisory governing the movement of high-risk prisoners between prisons.
The law officer also cited concerns raised by the Punjab government that Hawara's presence in a state prison could create law-and-order problems.
The Supreme Court had sought the IB's assessment during the previous hearing on October 13 after the authorities expressed reservations about the proposed transfer.
Hawara's lawyer, senior advocate S. Muralidhar, challenged the government's contention that Tihar Jail was necessarily more secure than prisons in Punjab.
He argued that the transfer request was primarily based on humanitarian considerations, particularly Hawara's desire to meet his ailing mother, who is over 90 years old.
"His mother is in the 90s," Muralidhar told the bench, adding that a parole application was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
He maintained that the government could not simply presume that Tihar Jail offered greater security than every prison in Punjab.
Responding to his submissions, Justice Sundresh indicated that the court would ordinarily have no difficulty considering arrangements for a prisoner to meet family members but said the intelligence assessment raised exceptional concerns.
"Normally we have no difficulty, but if the investigating agency says it's very damning," Justice Sundresh observed, referring to the prevailing circumstances and the possible impact on the elections.
Following the court's observations, Muralidhar suggested that the hearing could be postponed in view of the approaching polls.
"If elections are a concern, this may be taken up after three months," he submitted.
The bench accepted the suggestion and deferred further consideration of the petition until February next year, without deciding on the merits of Hawara's transfer request.
Hawara, associated with the banned militant organisation Babbar Khalsa International, was convicted for his role in the August 31, 1995, suicide bombing outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh.
The explosion killed Beant Singh and 16 others, including security personnel, in one of the most high-profile political assassinations during Punjab's troubled militancy years.
Hawara was initially sentenced to death, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court commuted the punishment to life imprisonment in 2010.
His latest petition seeks relocation to a Punjab prison to facilitate contact with his elderly mother and family.
Tuesday's order leaves his transfer request unresolved while his separate plea for parole remains pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
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Tags: #SC defers Beant Singh assassination convict Hawara’s jail transfer plea after IB warns of impact on Punjab polls
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