Centre mulls release of Sikh prisoners as goodwill gesture

CHANDIGARH: The Union home ministry is “seriously considering” release of Sikh prisoners, who have completed their life sentences, as a goodwill gesture on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

According to a top Punjab home department functionary, the issue was strongly “raised” by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh when he met Union home minister Amit Shah on September 3 in New Delhi. The home ministry has given “positive response” to the CM’S request.

Following this, the Punjab home department on September 14 submitted a proposal to the Union ministry of home affairs giving name of nine prisoners who can be released, it is learnt.

“The release of nine prisoners is not observed to be prejudicial to the peace and security in the state and the country. We feel it will be appreciated as a goodwill gesture on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak,” said Amarinder in a forwarding letter with the proposal by the state home department.

The proposal sent by the state government includes the names of Lal Singh, Dilbagh Singh, (lodged in maximum security jail in Nabha), Nand Singh (Central Jail, Patiala), Subheg Singh (Central Jail, Ludhiana), Gurdeep Singh Khera (Central Jail, Gulbarga in Karnataka), Hardeep Singh, Baj Singh (Central Jail, Amritsar), and Waryam Singh (Central Jail, Bareilly).

The names of Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora, Lakhwinder Singh Lakha, Gurmeet Singh Meeta and Shamsher Singh, convicted for the assassination of former chief minister Beant Singh, have not been included in the list.

The release of Sikh prisoners has remained a burning issue in Punjab politics. On September 18, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal wrote to PM Narendra Modi to ensure release of these prisoners. Notably, most of these prisoners have served life terms ranging between 18 and 28 years.

Seventeen Sikh prisoners are serving life sentence under TADA or other central laws and of these, 10 are lodged in Punjab jails, four in Chandigarh, two in Delhi and one in Uttar Pradesh.

The release of these Sikh prisoners doesn’t come under the purview of the state governments as per SC directions, which say that state governments cannot release those prisoners on remission whose prison terms are to continue till the end of their lives.

“The power of the state to exercise remission is restricted to cases which were not investigated by a CBI and the relief of remission would not extend to life convicts who are sentenced to life under central laws like TADA,” the directions state.

ON SEPTEMBER 14, PUNJAB GOVT HAD SENT A LIST OF NINE NAMES TO THE UNION HOME MINISTRY