High Court Mandates Strict 7-Week Timeline for Parole Decision of Beant Singh Convict

CHANDIGARH: In a significant directive aimed at resolving administrative delays, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered a time-bound, seven-week deadline for government and prison authorities to decide on the parole plea of Jagtar Singh Hawara. Hawara is currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur, following a writ petition highlighting prolonged bureaucratic delays in processing the inmate's request.

Background of the Plea
Jagtar Singh Hawara, who has spent 29 years in continuous custody, moved the High Court seeking a temporary release on parole for a period of four weeks. The primary ground for the application is humanitarian: Hawara requested the release to attend to his 81-year-old mother, whose physical and cognitive health is reportedly deteriorating rapidly.

During the hearing, senior counsel representing the petitioner argued that out of 36 criminal cases originally registered against Hawara, he has either been acquitted, discharged, or has fully completed his sentences in 35 of them. The assassination case remains the sole matter keeping him incarcerated. The defense further emphasized that despite nearly three decades of imprisonment and a record of clean jail conduct, the convict has never been granted parole.

Jurisdictional Conflict Resolves Administrative Delay
The high court’s intervention became necessary after the parole application became trapped in a jurisdictional stalemate between different state authorities.
Hawara is currently lodged in Mandoli Jail under the administration of the Delhi Prisons department. Prison officials had originally forwarded his parole dossier to the State Government of Punjab, operating under the assumption that the request fell under Punjab's jurisdiction because the inmate was a resident of the state.

However, the High Court clarified the legal framework governing the application. Since Hawara's original conviction was handed down by an Additional Sessions Judge in Chandigarh, the competent authority to review the case and offer statutory recommendations is the Union Territory of Chandigarh administration, not the Punjab government. Senior law officers representing the prison department conceded the administrative error during the proceedings, clearing the path for the court to establish a streamlined corrective course.

Court-Ordered Implementation Schedule
To ensure the administrative machinery functions without further overlap or delay, the Division Bench mapped out a strict, sequential timeline for the processing of the file:

• Phase I (1 Week): The Superintendent of Mandoli Jail is directed to officially redirect and transmit the complete parole application file to the Home Secretary of the Chandigarh Administration.
• Phase II (4 Weeks): Upon receipt of the case file, the Chandigarh Administration must comprehensively evaluate the merits of the application and return its formal comments and recommendations back to the jail authorities.
• Phase III (2 Weeks): Within a fortnight of receiving the Chandigarh administration's input, the Mandoli Jail Superintendent must pass a final, speaking order conclusively deciding the parole plea.

The Bench emphasized that all involved departments must treat these deadlines as mandatory, ensuring the long-pending administrative matter is legally resolved without further protraction.

Discription:  The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered a strict seven-week deadline for authorities to decide on the parole plea of Jagtar Singh Hawara, a life-term convict in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Hawara, who has been imprisoned for 29 years with a clean conduct record, requested a four-week temporary release to care for his ailing 81-year-old mother. His application was delayed because Mandoli Jail officials mistakenly sent his file to the Punjab government.

The High Court clarified that the Chandigarh Union Territory administration holds jurisdiction. The Bench ordered Mandoli Jail to forward the file to Chandigarh within one week. Chandigarh must provide recommendations within four weeks, and the jail must issue a final decision two weeks later.