India Supreme courth refuses clemency plea for Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass any order on a plea for clemency to Balwant Singh Rajoana, awarded death penalty for assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

A bench of justices T.S. Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra said it cannot pass any direction as the convict has not filed any petition before it and the petitioner Abhinav Ramakrishna has no locus standi to plead on his behalf.

The apex court also allowed an NGO, Lawyers for Human Rights International, to withdraw its petition filed with a similar plea.

The bench told Abhinav Ramakrishna, an advocate, that since petition was filed under Article 32, it cannot be entertained as in no way, any fundamental right of the petitioner was violated.

In other words, the bench said, Article 32 provision could be invoked only by a person whose fundamental right is violated.

The NGO had contended in its petition that Rajoana was not properly represented during the trial of the case and he had also not filed any appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against his conviction and capital punishment awarded by the trial court.

The NGO was seeking stay on the execution of Babbar Khalsa militant Rajoana’s death penalty, which was slated for March 31 but has already been stayed by the Centre. Rajoana is presently lodged in Patiala Central Jail.

The NGO had challenged the March 22 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had dismissed a PIL against the lower court’s order convicting Rajoana and awarding death penalty to him.

It had said the decision in the case has not attained finality as the CBI has challenged in the apex court the commuting of death sentence to life term of co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara.

“That it is submitted that the judgement by which the death sentence has been confirmed, is under appeal before the Supreme Court at the instance of the CBI.

“The special leave has been granted in an appeal against the conviction of Hawara. So the decision has not attained finality, therefore, the death sentence can not be executed,” the NGO had said in its petition.

Rajoana, a police constable and a close friend of another assassin Dilawar Singh Babbar, was the second human bomb to be used, in case the first one failed to kill Beant Singh on August 31, 1995.

The special CBI court had awarded death sentence to Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara on August 1, 2007. Other co-accused Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment for hatching conspiracy to kill Beant Singh.

Rajoana did not appeal against the judgement. The death penalty of Hawara, who filed an appeal against it, was commuted to life term.

Bibi Jagir Kaur gets 5 years’ rigorous imprisonment,while acquitted of murder charges

Patiala, Punjab: Punjab minister Jagir Kaur was today convicted for conspiring in forcible abduction, kidnapping and wrongful confinement in connection with the killing of her daughter Harpreet Kaur 12 years back but was acquitted of the murder charge.

The minister was on Friday sent to Patiala Central Jail after a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court sentenced her to five years of imprisonment in three cases relating to Harpreet’s mysterious death in April 2000.

Jagir Kaur, who had been accused of getting her daughter murdered in an apparent case of honour killing, was found guilty of forcing Harpreet to abort her baby days before she died. She was also found guilty of abduction and wrongful confinement.

She was given five-year rigorous imprisonment in one case, three years in another and one year in a third case. All sentences are to run concurrently.

Harpreet was found dead under mysterious circumstances on April 20, 2000. She was cremated in a hurry without post mortem examination. Jagir Kaur had then said that her daughter died of severe food poisoning.

Later, her son-in-law Kamaljit Singh accused Jagir of plotting the murder of Harpreet as she did not approve of their marriage. He also claimed that a pregnant Harpreet was forced to abort her baby, days before she was killed.

Harpreet had married Kamaljit secretly against the wishes of Jagir, who was then the chief of Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the Sikhs’ highest religious body. The allegations forced her resignation from the post.

The case against Jagir was registered after Kamaljit approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which consequently ordered a CBI probe. Earlier this month, Kamaljit had written a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claiming that he and his family were being threatened by the police.

Lok Sabha nod for Bill on judicial standards and accountability

New Delhi, March 29
The Lok Sabha today passed, the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2011 aimed at striking a balance between maximising judicial independence and laying down accountability at the same time for members of the higher judiciary.
The Bill proposes to reduce the quantum of punishment for frivolous and false complaints against judges from proposed five years’ rigorous imprisonment to one-year simple imprisonment and quantum of fine from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50,000.
As in last two days, the Lok Sabha was adjourned first during the Question Hour, then at 12 noon. When it met at 2 pm, the Telangana enthusiasts again occupied the well of the House. Deputy Speaker Kariya Munda asked Law and Justice Minister Salman Khursheed to move the Bill. But when the minister could not be heard in the din, the Chair directed him to lay the copy of the speech and then move for passage of the Bill.
Making the statement on the Bill, discussed in the Lok Sabha in December last year, Khursheed informed the members that the Government heeded their suggestions on this account.
Most important component of this Bill is the proposed creation of a National Judicial Oversight Committee (NJOC) “Which gives them wider constitutional powers, including that of taking help from outside,” said the minister drawing their attention to Section 38 of the Bill where the “NJOC shall be entitled to take assistance of such officers of the Central or the State Government or any agency thereof or authority as it deems fit.”
The minister pointed out, “Since the impeachment of judges has to be decided by Parliament, MPs have been included in the committee.”
The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, which was introduced in December, 2010 was
brought to the Lower House with fresh amendments in December last year, including one which seeks to restrain judges from making "unwarranted comments" against conduct of any Constitutional authority.
According to the revised bill, any judge who makes oral comments against other constitutional authorities and individuals would render himself/herself liable for judicial misconduct.
Khurshid referred to some members raising the issue regarding appointment of judges and said the current system of selection of judges has been mandated by the Supreme Court in its judgement. He said in the present system, judiciary has major say in judicial appointments.
Simultaneously, Khursheed said that the proposed Clause 47 of Bill deals with the investigation into misbehaviour or incapacity of a judge by the investigation committee for removal of judges. “This is the original constitutional provision for impeachment of Judge, adopted in this Bill and also provided for under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968,’ said the law minister.
He rejected the members demand to spell out the composition of the investigation committee to probe the conduct of a judge and left this instead to the discretion of NJOC.
The minister also promised to institute at a future date an All India Judicial Service to attract the best talent, stating “We are anxious to put in place a system that would ensure that best and the brightest are elevated to the bench in a transparent manner,” adding though, “The idea of these reforms is to ensure that their (Judges’) credibility is not undermined and at the same time the constitutional obligation cast on the President is discharged effectively,” he said.

Key component

The most important component of this Bill is the proposed creation of a National Judicial Oversight Committee (NJOC) “which gives them wider constitutional powers, including that of taking help from outside for the purpose of getting more information. The NJOC shall be entitled to take assistance of such officers of the Central or the state government or any agency thereof or authority as it deems fit.”

CBI court convicts Punjab cabinet minister Jagir Kaur in Harpreet case

A special CBI court in Patiala today convicted Punjab cabinet minister Bibi Jagir Kaur in the murder case of her daughter Harpreet Kaur, who died under mysterious circumstances in 2000.
The court held Bibi Jagir Kaur guilty under Section 120-B, 313, 365, 344 of IPC but acquitted her under section 302.She was sentenced to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000.

Accused Paramjit Singh, Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Nishan Singh were held guilty under Sections 365 and 344. Dalwinder and Paramjit were also convicted under Section 313. Accused Harminder and Satya Devi were acquitted of all charges.

Bibi Jagir Kaur and other convicts were later arrested and sent in judicial custody for 14 days after the pronouncement of the court order.

Bibi Jagir Kaur is the only woman in the state cabinet and holds the charges of three department, including rural water supply and sanitation.

The CBI had registered an FIR in the case following Punjab and Haryana high court orders, after Kamaljeet Singh of Begowal approached it accusing Bibi Jagir Kaur of conspiring the murder of Harpreet.

Harpreet had a love affair with Kamaljeet of Begowal village, where Bibi Jagir Kaur runs a dera. The former SGPC chief was against their marriage.

According to Kamaljit, he and Harpreet had secretly married and the latter was six-month pregnant when she was murdered at the behest of Jagir Kaur at Phagwara.

Last week, Kamaljit had written to Punjab chief minister, seeking security in view of the upcoming verdict.

Several witnesses turning hostile as the case progressed in CBI court. Even complainant Kamaljit Singh turned hostile, only to reaffirm the charges later.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the prosecuting agency in the case, had framed charges of criminal conspiracy, abortion without woman's consent, wrongful confinement, kidnapping, murder and destroying evidence against Bibi Jagir Kaur, Dalwinder Kaur, Paramjit Singh, sub-inspector Nishan Singh, Satya, Harvinder Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, besides others.

According to the CBI, Dalwinder poisoned Harpreet by mixing phenobarbitone into her food. As per the prosecution, Bibi Jagir Kaur asked Dr BS Sohal, a medical officer at the Sant Baba Prem Singh dispensary, Begowal, to suggest a poison to kill Harpreet after she allegedly failed to persuade her daughter to leave Kamaljit.

Timeline

April 20, 2000: Bibi Jagir Kaur's daughter Harpreet Kaur dies mysteriously; cremated a day later without post-mortem examination or inquest

April 27, 2000: Kamaljit Singh files petition in Punjab and Haryana high court, alleging that his wife Harpreet was murdered

September 2000: High court orders CBI probe into case October 2000: CBI arrests Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Paramjit Singh Raipur, a Phagwara-based couple, on the charges of forcible abortion, conspiring to murder and destruction of evidence

November 2008: Accused-turned approver Dr BS Sohal dies in road accident at Amritsar

March 17, 2012: Court completes trial

March 30: Bibi Jagir Kaur held guilty