New Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that transferring Beant Singh murder convict Jagtar Singh Hawara from Delhi’s Tihar Jail to any prison in Punjab could impact the upcoming state elections.
Following the court’s observation, senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for Hawara, submitted: “If elections are a concern, this may be taken up after three months. The apex court subsequently posted the matter for hearing in February next year. Hawara and Bheora were re-arrested within two years, while Tara was later caught in Thailand. Devi Singh remains at large. Appeals against the verdict remain pending in the Supreme Court.
Hawara, along with Paramjit Singh Bheora, Jagtar Singh Tara, and murder convict Devi Singh, escaped Chandigarh’s high-security Burail Jail on January 22, 2004, by digging a 100-foot tunnel. Hawara was sentenced to death by a trial court in March 2007. The Punjab and Haryana High Court commuted it to life imprisonment without release in October 2010.
The IB also told the top court that Hawara falls in the high-risk category and may not be transferred to Punjab. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale described the agency’s report as “damning”.
The court had earlier asked the Delhi government to seek IB inputs on Hawara’s plea to be moved to a Punjab jail.
