The Punjab and Haryana High Court has prescribed a time-bound procedure for deciding the parole application of Jagtar Singh Hawara, a convict in Punjab former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.

The Bench made it clear the Superintendent of the Central Jail No.15, Mandoli, would eventually take a decision on the parole application after being told that the competent authority to decide the parole request was the Superintendent of the jail where the convict was currently lodged, and not the Chandigarh Administration.

The Division Bench of Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur observed that Hawara was presently undergoing sentence in Central Jail No. 15, Mandoli, New Delhi, where he was shifted by the Ministry of Home Affairs following a jail-break incident in which he escaped custody and remained absconding before being rearrested.

Appearing for the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the State counsel argued that “a decision with respect to the temporary release of a convict is to be taken by the Superintendent of the Jail, where a convict is undergoing his sentence” under the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act as applicable to Chandigarh.

Since Hawara was lodged in Mandoli Jail, the Chandigarh Administration was not the authority empowered to decide his parole application and was required only to furnish its report whenever called upon to do so.

The Union Territory further relied on the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, submitting that the Rules provided that parole shall not be granted to convicts involved in “sedition, terrorist activities and also to those who are also involved in an escape bid.” However, it maintained that the question of eligibility was also for the Superintendent of Central Jail No. 15, Mandoli, to examine while deciding the parole application.

The Bench ordered: “The Superintendent, Central Jail No.15, Mandoli, shall re-direct / forward the request of the petitioner for grant of parole to the Home Secretary, Union Territory, Chandigarh within a period of one week…”

It further directed: “On receipt of the request, the Union Territory, Chandigarh shall submit its comments / recommendations to the Superintendent of the Central Jail No.15, Mandoli within a further period of four weeks, as per law.”

The Bench added: “On receipt of the comments / recommendation, the Superintendent of the Central Jail No.15, Mandoli shall take a decision on the parole application within a further period of two weeks thereafter.”

Before parting with the matter, the Bench observed: “Needless to mention that all authorities whose reports are to be obtained/filed shall also take a special note of the timelines….”

Hawara had approached the High Court seeking four weeks’ parole to look after his 81-year-old mother, whose health, according to the petition, was “rapidly deteriorating on account of advanced age related physical & cognitive disorders.”

Former chief minister Beant Singh was killed in a blast outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995. The explosion killed 17 people, including believed-to-be human bomb Dilawar Singh. Hawara and co-convict Balwant Singh were awarded death sentence by the trial Court on July 31, 2007. Hawara escaped the gallows on October 12, 2010, after the death penalty awarded to him by the trial Court was commuted to life. He was directed to remain behind bars till his last. Balwant Singh’s death sentence was upheld.