Abolish Death Penalty India: Shiromani Akali Dal

Showing posts with label Shiromani Akali Dal. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Death row convict Rajoana ends hunger strike after meeting with SGPC chief (Punjab)

Posted at: Jul 20, 2018, 8:21 PM

Patiala: Balwant Singh Rajoana, the death row convict in the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh assassination case, on Friday ended his hunger strike in the Patiala central jail following a meeting with the SGPC chief.

Balwant Singh Rajoana

Rajoana had recently written to the Patiala jail superintendent that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had moved a mercy petition seeking commutation of his death penalty into life imprisonment in 2012 before the then President Pratibha Patil without taking his consent. According to media reports, Rajoana had accused the SPGC of failing to pursue his mercy petition. He had claimed that until the SGPC does not withdraw the mercy petition—if they do not get any results—or the Union Home Ministry does not conclude on it he would remain on hunger strike.

The SGPC, in a statement today, said that its chief Gobind Singh Longowal met Rajoana in the Patiala central jail here, following which he ended his hunger strike. Jail Superintendent Rajan Kapoor confirmed that Rajoana has ended his hunger strike. Rajoana, who began his fast unto death from Monday, had earlier turned down the SGPC’s request to end it. Longowal, along with Akali Dal MPs, had recently met Union Minister Rajnath Singh regarding Rajoana’s mercy petition. A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court had in July 2007 awarded the death sentence to Rajoana, along with another terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, in the Beant Singh assassination case.

Rajoana was scheduled to be hanged on March 31, 2012. However, the execution was stayed on March 28, 2012, by Patil after the SPGC filed the mercy petition. The President had forwarded the application to the Home Ministry but the later is yet to take any decision on it. Rajoana is currently lodged in execution cell of the Patiala central jail. Former Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab, was assassinated by Dilawar Singh, a human bomb, at the high security Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.

While Hawara was the mastermind of the assassination, Rajoana was the second human bomb to be used in case the first assassin failed. Rajoana, during the trial, had admitted that he alone was responsible for the killing. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had in October 2010 upheld the death sentence for Rajoana, but changed the capital punishment given to Hawara to life imprisonment. Rajoana had refused to challenge the death sentence awarded to him. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2012 had said it would go to any extent to save Rajoana and asked the SGPC “to take all possible legal and other steps” to secure clemency for him. — PTI

Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/death-row-convict-rajoana-ends-hunger-strike-after-meeting-with-sgpc-chief/623695.html (Accessed 25 December 2018)

SAD, SGPC delegation meets union home minister, gets assurance of early decision on Rajoana’s clemency petition (Punjab)

TNN | Jul 18, 2018, 08.03 PM IST

Manish Sirhindi

PATIALA: A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday met union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, seeking an early decision in the clemency petition of Beant Singh assassin, Balwant Singh Rajoana. The Union Minister gave a patient hearing to the delegation and assured them that he would soon beckon all reports related to Rajoana's case and would have the matter expedited. The delegation comprising of SAD General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Member of Parliament from Anandpur Sahib Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder and former MP Tarlochan Singh along with SGOC president Gobind Singh Longowal met the union home minister. Speaking to the TOI over the phone from Delhi, Prem Singh Chandumajra said they have sought an early decision on the SGPC’s petition for commuting of Rajoana's death sentence to life imprisonment.

Balwant Singh Rajaona

He said in March 2012 when Rajoana was to be hanged inside the Patiala central jail, the situation in Punjab had become quite tense. There were intelligence reports that hanging Rajoana could lead to law and order situation in the state following which the SGPC filed the clemency petition with the President of India and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal met the union government and got his execution stayed just two days ahead of the scheduled hanging. Chandumajra said in case Rajoana is again put on the death row after the dismissal of his clemency petition, a similar situation can arise in the state, which the SAD did not want to happen. Reacting to the statement given by Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu, who is also the grandson of former chief minister Beant Singh, Chandumajra said when his party president Sonia Gandhi has forgiven the killers of Rajiv Gandhi, Bittu should also follow the suite. Replying to Bittu's comment that SAD was supporting a separatist, the Akali MP asserted by forgiving killers of former Prime Minister, has the Gandhi family also become the supporters of separatists.

He said the SAD failed to understand that when the family of former chief minister Beant Singh has long ago forgiven Rajoana, why the young MP was still fostering hard feelings against him. Meanwhile, he said, a delegation of SGPC would soon meet Balwant Singh Rajoana inside the Patiala central jail and inform him about the stand taken by the union home minister in this regard, persuading him to end his indefinite fast. After the SGPC had moved the clemency petition in 2012 on behalf of Rajoana, the matter was referred to the home ministry for feedback and since then the matter has remained pending since then. The final decision in this regard will be taken by the President of India on the basis of the recommendations to be made by the union home minister.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sad-sgpc-delegation-meets-union-home-minister-gets-assurance-of-early-decision-on-rajoanas-clemency-petition/articleshowprint/65042663.cms (Accessed 25 December 2018)

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Death row convict Rajoana ends hunger strike after meeting with SGPC chief

Posted at: Jul 20, 2018, 8:21 PM; last updated: Jul 20, 2018, 8:21 PM (IST)

Patiala, July 20: Balwant Singh Rajoana, the death row convict in the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh assassination case, on Friday ended his hunger strike in the Patiala central jail following a meeting with the SGPC chief. Rajoana had recently written to the Patiala jail superintendent that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had moved a mercy petition seeking commutation of his death penalty into life imprisonment in 2012 before the then President Pratibha Patil without taking his consent.According to media reports, Rajoana had accused the SPGC of failing to pursue his mercy petition.

He had claimed that until the SGPC does not withdraw the mercy petition—if they do not get any results—or the Union Home Ministry does not conclude on it he would remain on hunger strike.The SGPC, in a statement today, said that its chief Gobind Singh Longowal met Rajoana in the Patiala central jail here, following which he ended his hunger strike. Jail Superintendent Rajan Kapoor confirmed that Rajoana has ended his hunger strike. Rajoana, who began his fast unto death from Monday, had earlier turned down the SGPC’s request to end it. Longowal, along with Akali Dal MPs, had recently met Union Minister Rajnath Singh regarding Rajoana’s mercy petition.

Balwant Singh Rajaona (File Photo)

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court had in July 2007 awarded the death sentence to Rajoana, along with another terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, in the Beant Singh assassination case. Rajoana was scheduled to be hanged on March 31, 2012. However, the execution was stayed on March 28, 2012, by Patil after the SPGC filed the mercy petition. The President had forwarded the application to the Home Ministry but the later is yet to take any decision on it. Rajoana is currently lodged in execution cell of the Patiala central jail. Former Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab, was assassinated by Dilawar Singh, a human bomb, at the high security Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.

Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/death-row-convict-rajoana-ends-hunger-strike-after-meeting-with-sgpc-chief/623695.html (Accessed on 18 December 2018)

The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George