Mohali court acquits Jagtar Singh Hawara in 2005 explosives case
Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case, is now eligible for parole, his lawyer said. This was the last case pending against him.
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Jagtar Singh Hawara, a key figure of Babbar Khalsa International, has previously been acquitted in multiple high-profile cases. (Express File Photo)The Mohali district court on Monday acquitted Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is currently serving a life sentence for the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, in an explosives case registered in 2005. The verdict marks the closure of the last remaining case against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Tejpartap Singh Randhawa pronounced the verdict via video conferencing, with Hawara appearing virtually from Mandoli Jail in Delhi.
The case, registered at Sadar police station in Kharar, was filed under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and the Arms Act. Despite being named in the First Information Report (FIR), no arms or explosives were ever recovered from Hawara, and he was never arrested in connection with the case.
“With this acquittal, Hawara now has no pending cases,” said his lawyer Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, adding, “He has been behind bars for 30 years without parole, and now as a life convict in only one case, he is legally entitled to parole.”
Jagtar Singh Hawara, a key figure of Babbar Khalsa International, has previously been acquitted in multiple high-profile cases. In 2023, he was cleared of charges including sedition and promoting enmity between groups, under Indian Penal Code sections 124A and 153A, in a 1998 case. He has also been exonerated in two other explosives and sedition-related cases in Chandigarh.
Hawara currently has a petition pending in the Supreme Court seeking transfer to a jail in Punjab. A resident of Fatehgarh Sahib, he has argued that since he has no pending cases in Delhi or other states, he should be incarcerated in his home state.
Meanwhile, the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha has been staging a continuous sit-in protest at YPS Chowk in Mohali for the past two years demanding Hawara’s release and transfer to Punjab. The protest also calls for the release of other political prisoners and has seen multiple face-offs with the Chandigarh Police. Although authorities managed to reopen one side of the blocked road after a court order, the protest continues.
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