Chandigarh: Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row in the former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh assassination case, will be taken to the Department of Ophthalmology at PGIMER, Chandigarh, for an eye examination and appropriate treatment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed.
Rajoana had approached the High Court seeking relief over an eye-related condition. In his petition, he said he had developed an allergic reaction to his prescription spectacles and had been advised by doctors to undergo cataract surgery.
During the hearing before the bench of Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi, the court was informed that Rajoana has remained in custody for more than 30 years. The petition said he had been “swinging between life and death” since his conviction and sentencing.
Rajoana was convicted and sentenced to death by a Chandigarh Sessions Court in a case relating to an FIR registered on August 31, 1995, concerning the assassination of Beant Singh.
The petition also stated that Rajoana experiences severe itching whenever he wears his prescription glasses. It was submitted that doctors had recommended cataract surgery, after which he may not need the spectacles that are allegedly causing the allergic reaction.
Rajoana was also taken to PGIMER in January this year for medical examination.
During the hearing, his senior counsel said there would be no objection if Rajoana was examined at PGIMER and provided appropriate treatment. Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain, appearing for the Union of India, and senior advocate Amit Jhanji, representing the Chandigarh administration, told the court that Rajoana would be taken immediately to PGIMER’s ophthalmology department and provided appropriate treatment.
