Jagtar Singh Hawara gets no relief from High Court; next hearing on November 19

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday heard the parole plea filed by Jagtar Singh Hawara, but granted no relief during the hearing.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], October 28 (ANI): The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday heard the parole plea filed by Jagtar Singh Hawara, but granted no relief during the hearing. The court directed all concerned parties to file their replies with the Registry. However, no arguments could take place during the hearing.

The matter has been listed for the next hearing on November 19. Jagtar Singh Hawara is in jail because he was convicted as a key conspirator in the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. (ANI)

Hawara was arrested on September 21, 1995, tried, and convicted for the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and has remained in jail from the date of his arrest to this day; he has been incarcerated for over 28 years. The trial court, by order dated March 27, 2007, convicted Hawara and gave him the death sentence.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, by order dated October 12, 2010, modified the sentence to life imprisonment for the rest of his life. Earlier in August, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann met with the Governor to recommend a 10-day parole for Jagtar Singh Hawara on humanitarian grounds, citing the deteriorating health of the prisoner's mother.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, the Chief Minister stated that the recommendation was made to allow Hawara to meet his mother, who has not seen him in over three decades. A recommendation was made recently regarding the matter of granting parole to Jagtar Singh Hawara so that, on humanitarian grounds, he could be given parole as his mother's health is not well. His mother has a desire to meet him after 31 years," CM Mann said.

The Chief Minister explained that since the case is being heard in the Union Territory, the Governor's role is pivotal in forwarding the request to the Central Government. "I met the Governor today because as the case is being heard in the UT, the Governor will have an important role and the matter will be sent to the Centre. The final decision rests with the Centre, but we have requested a 10-day parole," he added. (ANI)