Hearing on Jagtar Hawara’s plea for transfer to Punjab jail today

New Delhi: The plea filed by Jagtar Hawara, a convict in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking his transfer from Delhi’s Tihar Jail to a prison in Punjab, is set to be heard on Tuesday.

The court has sought responses from the Centre, as well as the Delhi and Punjab governments, with replies expected to be filed during the hearing.

Hawara, now 54, was convicted on March 27, 2007, and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 12, 2010.

Notably, Hawara had escaped from Chandigarh’s Burail Jail on January 22, 2004, by digging a tunnel with accomplices. He was recaptured in 2005 and has remained in custody since.

The petitioner’s plea highlights that he has sought a report on his conduct in Tihar Jail, which has yet to be provided. It also notes that he was recently acquitted in a sedition case.