New Delhi, 13 January (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred by two weeks the hearing on a plea by Jagtar Singh Hawara, the Babbar Khalsa terrorist convicted in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking his transfer from Delhi's Tihar Jail to any prison in Punjab.

A bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh adjourned the matter due to the unavailability of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. This development prolongs Hawara's ongoing bid for relocation after decades of incarceration in the national capital.

Hawara, a key figure in the Babbar Khalsa International militant outfit, has been serving a life sentence since his conviction for masterminding the suicide bomb blast at the Chandigarh civil secretariat entrance on August 31, 1995, which killed Beant Singh and 16 others.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had confirmed his life imprisonment in 2010 after commuting an initial death sentence awarded by the trial court in 2007, alongside co-conspirators like Balwant Singh Rajoana, whose separate mercy petition remains pending.

Hawara, originally from Hawara Kalan village in Fatehgarh Sahib district, has faced multiple legal challenges, including recent acquittals in ancillary explosives cases and repeated parole denials despite appeals from over 60 Punjab village panchayats citing his ailing mother's health.

The transfer petition argues logistical hardships and family proximity needs, building on prior interim paroles granted for brief home visits, though Punjab authorities have historically resisted due to security concerns tied to his terror background.

Legal observers note the deferral aligns with sensitivities around Punjab's militancy history, as the Centre weighs inputs from intelligence agencies before any relocation. No further submissions were recorded during the brief listing, with the case now slated for early February, keeping Hawara in Tihar amid his acquittal in a lingering 2005 arms case that cleared his parole eligibility path.

Punjab government sources remain cautious, emphasizing sustained monitoring given Hawara's unrepentant stance and disputed Akal Takht endorsements.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar