MUMBAI: Opposing the transfer plea of Beant Singh assassination case convict Jagtar Singh Hawara, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that his shifting from Tihar Jail to Punjab will have law and order implications and a huge impact on the state assembly elections due early next year.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, senior law officer appearing for the Centre/Delhi government, placed the IB report before a bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice P B Varale, stating Hawara is a high-risk prisoner.
The bench noted, "Normally we have no difficulty, but if the agency says it's very damning... it will have a huge impact on the ongoing elections."
Hawara -- the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist -- is serving rigorous life imprisonment for the rest of his life for the bomb blast at the entrance of civil secretariat, Chandigarh on August 31, 1995 which killed Beant Singh and 16 others. The plea will now be heard in the week commencing February 22, 2027.
Hawara, who is a member of BKI, had moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer from Tihar Central Jail to any jail in Punjab on grounds that his family is based in Punjab and he has been lodged far from home for many years.
The Delhi government had also opposed the plea citing security concerns and intelligence inputs that Hawara continues to pose threat and his transfer may have law and order implications.
The bench had earlier observed that the matters relating to terrorists and high-risk convicts are sensitive and courts must be cautious. "These are sensitive matters. We are not in a position to go against the advice of the state government," the top court had said.
Hawara was convicted for his role in conspiracy and assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh who was killed in a bomb blast at Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. The blast killed 17 others too.
He had earlier escaped from Burail jail in Chandigarh in 2004 by digging a tunnel and was re-arrested in 2005. He is currently serving life imprisonment in Tihar jail.
