‘Hawara very very high-risk prisoner, his production may escalate law and order problem’ 

While allowing the application, the court ordered that “proceedings are ordered to be conducted by procuring the presence of the accused through video conferencing” by issuing production warrants the Superintendent, Tihar Jail, Delhi.

While passing the order, the court considered “the plea of the prosecution that the accused Jagtar Singh Hawara is very very high risky prisoner, as mentioned in the letter dated December 14, 2022, received from…Tihar Jail… and the factum that a large protest is being organized by Qaumi Insaaf Morcha at the border of Chandigarh-Mohali (border) from the last more than one month seeking release of Sikh prisoners including the present accused also.”

“I find that the physical appearance/production of the accused before this court may implicate law and order as well as threat to safety of the accused himself and thus there exists such exceptional circumstances which at least at this stage warrants appearance of the accused through video conferencing only, even for taking him into custody in relation to the present case and granting judicial remand at first instance or police remand, as the case may be,” the order further read.

On the contentions of Hawara’s counsel that earlier he was being produced before other courts at Anandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, and “no such request was made by the prosecution in the challan”, and also Balwant Singh, a co-accused in Beant Singh assassination case, is being produced in Patiala district court Patiala and thus Hawara can also be produced physically, the judge order ordered that such arguments “do not have any substance of merit at least at this stage due to existence of exceptional circumstances”.

“Otherwise also, in the present case challan has been filed against the accused for the offence under Section 124A, 153A, 225, 511, 120-B IPC and after his appearance before this court and supplying copies of challan and other documents relied upon by the prosecution to him, the present case is to be committed by this court to the Court of Sessions. Thus no prejudice would be caused to the accused if these proceedings are conducted by directing his production before through video conferencing,” the court ordered.

Earlier, the court heard the arguments on application filed by the prosecution to procure presence of Hawara through video conferencing.

It was averred in the application that challan in the present case was produced on November 18, 2022 against Hawara before the court. As he was already in custody in some other case and lodged in Tihar Jail, the production warrants were issued by the court for December 3, 2022 in reply of which Tihar Jail deputy superintendent replied that Hawara is a very very high-risk prisoner and large number of armed forces are required for his court production. Permission was sought to produce Hawara through  camera on December 17, 2022.