Delhi HC seeks response to Beant Singh assassination convict Jagtar Singh Hawara’s parole plea in 4 weeks

The Delhi High Court has directed the authorities to respond within four weeks to the long-pending parole application of Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is serving a life sentence in the assassination case of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

“The petitioner is at present incarcerated in Central Jail No. 15, Mandoli, Delhi. His grievance in this writ petition is that his application for parole, which was submitted on 11.06.2025 to the Superintendent of the Jail, has not elicited a response,” Justice Prateek Jalan noted in an order passed on Thursday, January 22.

“It is directed that the respondent-authorities will communicate their response to the request for parole, to the petitioner and learned counsel on record for the petitioner, within a period of four weeks,” the order added.

The respondents, via additional standing counsel Sanjeev Bhandari, argued that the jail superintendent lacks competence as Hawara was convicted by Chandigarh’s additional sessions judge, pointing to the Chandigarh administration as the proper authority.

Hawara’s senior counsel, Maninder Singh, contested this but stressed the seven-month delay warranted a reply for further steps.

“It is made clear that this order does not foreclose the submission of the parties recorded above. All rights and remedies of the petitioner also remain reserved,” the order clarified.

The writ petition was disposed of, with a copy sent to the jail superintendent for compliance.

Hawara applied for regular parole on June 11 last year, highlighting the over 27 years already served and good conduct in jail. He sought release to tend to his bedridden mother and repair family ties.

Talking to The Indian Express, Hawara’s lawyer, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, said that he was convicted in seven cases and acquitted in 22 and was eligible for parole. He also pointed out that Hawara’s co-accused, Lakhwinder Singh, had received parole since 2013.

Hawara was convicted to death in 2007 by Additional Sessions Judge R K Sondhi in Chandigarh under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010.