Supreme Court Seeks IB Inputs on Hawara's Plea for Transfer to Punjab Jailਸੁਪਰੀਮ ਕੋਰਟ ਨੇ ਹਵਾਰਾ ਦੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਤਬਦੀਲੀ ਅਰਜ਼ੀ 'ਤੇ IB ਤੋਂ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਮੰਗੀ

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Delhi government to obtain inputs from the Intelligence Bureau before deciding Jagtar Singh Hawara's plea to be transferred from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a prison in Punjab. Hawara is serving a life sentence for his role in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

What the court said

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale said the request raised security questions the court could not assess on its own. The judges said they did not want to go against the advice of the governments concerned without an intelligence assessment, and they asked the Additional Solicitor General to get instructions on whether the transfer could be allowed. The case will be heard next on November 3.

During the hearing, Justice Sundresh observed that a person can change over time, but the court still had to consider what a transfer might trigger. He noted that the Punjab government's objection could not be ignored, because the state had linked its concern to a continuing ideology rather than to one prisoner alone.

Why the governments oppose the transfer

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Delhi government, opposed the plea. She pointed to Hawara's involvement in the 2004 Burail Jail escape in Chandigarh, where he and other inmates got out through a tunnel, and to a Ministry of Home Affairs advisory that requires consultation with the Intelligence Bureau when a high-risk prisoner is moved between states. She also relied on an affidavit from the Punjab government saying a transfer could affect peace and law and order in the state, and that it should not be considered if the Bureau's inputs were adverse.

Hawara was first sentenced to death in 2007 for the August 31, 1995 bombing outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, which killed Beant Singh and 16 others. In 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court commuted that sentence to imprisonment for the rest of his natural life.

What Hawara's side argued

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Hawara, said the assassination had taken place 31 years ago, when his client was 21. He said Hawara was not seeking release, only a move to a high-security prison in Punjab, and that he had maintained an unblemished record in jail apart from the earlier escape. The plea rests on family and practical grounds: his mother is 82 and in serious condition, his daughter lives in Punjab, the case in which he is serving his sentence arose in Punjab, and no case against him is pending in Delhi, which his side says makes it hard for him to take part in proceedings in Punjab.

The court had earlier issued notice on the plea to the Centre, the Chandigarh Administration and the governments of Delhi and Punjab. A similar transfer request had been dismissed by the Delhi High Court in 2018. The Bureau's assessment is now expected to shape the next hearing.

What did the Supreme Court order on Hawara's transfer plea?

It asked the Delhi government to seek Intelligence Bureau inputs on whether Hawara can be moved from Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab, and listed the matter next on November 3.

Why do Delhi and Punjab oppose the transfer?

Both governments cite security and law-and-order concerns, Hawara's 2004 escape from Burail Jail, and a Home Ministry advisory on moving high-risk prisoners between states.

Is Hawara seeking release from prison?

No. His counsel told the court he is seeking only a transfer to a high-security prison in Punjab, mainly to be nearer his elderly, seriously ill mother and his daughter.

What sentence is Hawara serving?

He is serving imprisonment for the rest of his natural life. A death sentence imposed in 2007 was commuted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010.