Avtar Henry’s citizenship issue: Notice issued to Centre on PIL

Chandigarh, April 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the Union Home Ministry on a PIL filed by Jalandhar-based RTI activist Ajay Seghal for becoming party to the revision petition filed by former minister Avtar Henry against the termination of his Indian citizenship. Sehgal had brought Avtar Henry’s citizenship issue under the judicial scanner.

Taking up the matter, Justice RN Raina issued a notice to Union Home Secretary and to Avtar Henry for April 23.

Directing Jalandhar Commissioner of Police to examine the complaint against Punjab's former minister regarding his citizenship, the High Court in December last year had made it clear that an FIR would have to be registered in case the allegations were prima facie found to be true.

The Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain had directed the Commissioner to examine the complaint dated September 27, 2012, filed by Sehgal and to order registration of an FIR against him, if a prima facie case was found to have been made out, within two months.

Sehgal, through advocate HC Arora, had stated that Avtar Henry acquired the British citizenship in 1969 under the name of Avtar Singh. He came to India on the British passport the same year and obtained an Indian passport, which was renewed from time to time. He also registered himself as a voter in the Jalandhar (North) constituency and contested the elections in 1986, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012.

Death-row convicts' kin should be informed in advance: Chief Justice of India

NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over the hanging of Afzal Guru, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir today said the families of death row convicts should be informed in advance about their execution.

However, he sought to play down the controversy on the issue saying the past incidents should not be raked up again.

"Procedure as has been in the past, they should have been informed and as far as I know, steps were taken to inform them," the CJI said in response to a question about keeping families of death row convicts informed in time about their execution.

The CJI's remarks came against the backdrop of the family of Guru, a Parliament attack convict, not being informed about his hanging in due time.

The communication regarding the rejection of Guru's mercy plea and his subsequent execution had reached his relatives two days after he was hanged on February 9.

The CJI along with law minister Ashwani Kumar was addressing a joint press conference after the conclusion of a conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of high courts here.

"The law minister has rightly said these are the issues which have already taken place in the past and I think these things should not be raked up again today. But yes, the principle has always been that the family members were told about when the things would happen," Justice Kabir said.

However, Kumar preferred not to be dragged into the controversy and said, "I do not think that my personal opinion matters...as a law minister, I will rather comment on things that will happen in future not what has happened in the past. These are matters which are very subjective. I would rather not comment."

Further, he said the issue of mercy petitions is pending before the apex court and he would not like to comment on sub-judice matter.

"Postmortems can be unending. I am not going to comment on what were or were not the shortcomings. As far as the present batch of petitions are concerned that matter is before the Supreme Court. It is sub-judice. I will certainly not comment on that," he said.

The law minister was specifically asked whether Guru's family should also have been given an opportunity to approach court for stay of his execution.

He also said he cannot speak about delays in deciding the mercy petitions in the past but "there should not be delay in disposing the mercy petitions."

However, Justice Kabir, without going into the debate over delays, said, "If a death penalty were to be awarded and it is there under the system then the quicker things are done the better it is for everybody."

The comments by Justice Kabir and Kumar also came against the backdrop of rejection of mercy petitions of slain forest brigand Veerappan's four associates and the Supreme Court staying their hanging and also the apex court staying the execution of eight death row prisoners last evening.

Haryana again seeks separate high court

Punjab says growing pendency may cause law & order problem
New Delhi, April 7
Haryana has once again reiterated its demand for having a separate high court and further sought parity with neighbour Punjab in its share of judges in the existing common high court.

Since 1966, when Haryana was carved out of Punjab, the two states have a common high court in Chandigarh.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while speaking at the Conference of Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of the High Courts in the National Capital today, said: “A separate high court for the state was our Constitutional right. This will not only fulfil the aspirations of the people of Haryana but also strengthen the judicial system in the state.”

This, he suggested, can be done by bifurcating the existing premises, judges and staff of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Keeping in view the increased number of litigations originating from Haryana, he also asked for a change in the ratio of judges from 60:40 to 50:50 between Punjab and Haryana.

Hooda welcomed the idea of having an All-India Judicial Service and supported the initiative of the National Court Management System and the creation of a National Judicial Data Grid.

In his address, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said his state would set up a State Judicial Academy on the outskirts of Shimla. Land has been allocated for the academy and Rs 37 crore earmarked for its construction. The government has given administrative approval of Rs 26 crore and expenditure sanction of Rs 7 crore for the academy, he added.

“The academy will create trained and qualified managerial cadre to manage the judiciary at all levels and also check the shortcomings in the institutions,” Virbhadra said.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal could not make it to the conference due to his party’s conclave in Goa. His speech, which was distributed among delegates, said: “One great challenge that stares us in the face is the failure of the justice delivery system to deliver justice expeditiously which has brought about a sense of frustration amongst litigants. A common man may be tempted to take the law into his own hands by taking resort to extra-judicial means of securing justice which could prove dangerous for peace and stability, and success of the democratic system.”

Don't keep people on death row in limbo, CJI Altamas Kabir tells govt

NEW DELHI: Asking the Indian government not to keep mercy petitions of death row convicts pending for a long time, Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir on Sunday said execution of death penalty should not be delayed. He also faulted the government for not informing Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's family members before he was hanged.

"If a death penalty is to be awarded and it is there under the system, then the quicker things are done the better it is for everybody," Justice Kabir said at a press conference with law minister Ashwani Kumar after a meeting of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts on judicial reforms.

The inordinate delay in disposing of mercy petitions has been a cause of concern with one such convict, Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, approaching the apex court. Citing the delay of 11 years in adjudicating his mercy plea by the President, Bhullar said his death penalty should be commuted to life imprisonment. The apex court has reserved its judgment in the case.

Taking cue from Bhullar, several others whose mercy pleas were delayed moved the apex court, citing similar reasons. Among them are three convicted for the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and four aides of killed brigand Veerappan. The court has put off their cases till the Bhullar matter is decided.

On Saturday, following a petition filed by a civil rights group, the SC stayed for four weeks the execution of eight convicts on similar grounds. The delay in carrying out death sentences in these cases ranged from three to 12 years.

The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs had last month recommended that all mercy petitions should be decided by the President within three months.

On the news of Guru's hanging reaching his family after two days, Justice Kabir said, "The principle has always been that families have been informed about the execution."

The decision to execute Guru was communicated to his family which reached them two days after he was hanged on February 9.

The law minister, however, skirted the Guru issue and said he would rather "comment on things that will happen in future and not what has happened in the past".

Justice Kabir concurred with the law minister's views and said, "The law minister has rightly said these are issues which have already taken place in the past and I think these things should not be raked up again today."

The two-judge bench which stayed the execution of eight convicts on Saturday had also referred to the Guru case and said, "It should not happen as it happened in the J&K case (Afzal's hanging)."

The bench added, "Intimation of the execution reached the relatives of the person (Afzal) after his hanging. That is bad. The relatives lost an opportunity to meet the condemned prisoner for one last time before his execution."

Punjab govt. to frame new transfer policy for teachers

Chandigarh, April 7
With the state government working on a new policy, large-scale transfers of teachers are likely to be effected in the coming days. The focus will be on promoting discipline and accountability among the teaching community.

A fixed tenure of three years, so as to ensure continuity at a particular station, will be the main highlight.

Sources said senior officials in the Education Department had been flooded with transfer requests for the past few weeks. But instead of carrying out the hitherto annual routine, the state government wanted to bring about “qualitative” changes this time, they said.

All teachers seeking transfers would have to file their requests online; so far, they used to give written applications.

Officials said the requests of women teachers, including widows, newly married girls or couple cases would be met on a priority. The move would be in sync with the state government’s women empowerment agenda.

Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka said his officers had been working on finalising the policy for the past several weeks and the aim was not only to carry out transfers, but also to rationalise the entire process.

Since focus would be on rationalisation, information had been sought from all district education officers so that a ready reckoner — on the basis of available strength of teachers and vacancies — was in place at the headquarters beforehand, he pointed out.

In the past, there have been instances when two or more people managed to get orders for the same place of posting, causing unwarranted confusion and bad blood among the teachers. Since all applications under the new policy would only be accepted online and in the prescribed format, such incidents would be a thing of the past. Orders would also be posted on the department’s website.

The Education Minister, however, warned teachers against lobbying, which “will invite action against them as per rules”.


Key aspects of new policy:-
A fixed tenure of three years in each posting
Priority to adjust women teachers, including widows and newly married girls, and couple cases
Teachers indulging in lobbying to invite action
Transfer applications will have to be submitted online
Focus to be on promoting discipline, accountability

SC stays execution of Haryana ex-MLA’s daughter, 7 others

New Delhi, April 7
The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of eight death-row convicts, including Haryana former MLA Relu Ram Punia’s daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, on petitions filed by their relatives and People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) apprehending that they might be hanged secretly as was done with Afzal Guru, convicted in the Parliament attack case.

A Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and MY Eqbal passed the order late last evening after hearing the arguments of senior counsel Colin Gonsalves who appeared for PUDR, a civil rights group, and the convicts’ relatives.

During the hearing, held at the residence of Justice Sathasivam, the Bench said it did not want an incident similar to Jammu and Kashmir. It, however, did not mention the name of Afzal or the Parliament attack case. “There shall be stay of execution of the death sentence in respect of the eight petitioners. Notice to the states concerned returnable in four weeks,” the Bench said in its order.

PUDR approached the SC after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected the mercy petitions of the eight convicts last week clearing the decks for their execution.

All the eight have been convicted for committing murders. Sonia Chowdhary, 31, and her husband Sanjeev Kumar, were sentenced to death for the gruesome murder of eight members of her family, including her father.

A taekwondo champion, Sonia had chosen her 19th birthday (August 23, 2001) to commit the crime at the farmhouse of her father at Litani Mor in Hisar. Among those bludgeoned to death were her mother Krishna, sister Priyanka, stepbrother Sunil, his wife Shakuntala and their three children — Lokesh (4), Shivani (2) and Preeti (45 days).

The petitioners have challenged the execution move citing the long delay in the rejection of the mercy pleas. The other convicts are Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali.

There shall be stay of execution of the death sentence in respect of the eight petitioners. Notice to the states concerned returnable in four weeks. — SC Bench

On Death Row:-

Sonia Chowdhary and her husband Sanjeev Kumar (Haryana) murdered eight members of her family, including her father
Gurmeet Singh (UP) killed 13 members of his family
Jafar Ali (UP) murdered his wife and five daughters
Suresh and Ramji (UP) eliminated five members of their younger brother's family
Praveen Kumar (Karnataka) convicted of killing four members of a family
Sundar Singh (Uttarakhand) convicted for rape-murder

HC stays execution of Sonepat rape convict Dharam Pal

Chandigarh, April 6
Dharam Pal has escaped the gallows, at least for the time being. Four days after the President rejected his mercy petition filed way back in 1999 in a murder case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed his execution.

One of the grounds taken by Dharam Pal in his petition filed before the high court was that the Supreme Court was already “seized of the matter”. The development is significant as Dharam Pal’s case has two aspects to it: the “mercy petition” and other proceedings before the Supreme Court on the legal issue of execution of convicts on death row who have been in jail for several years.

"The rejection of a mercy petition by the President paves the way for the execution of a convict on death row. But, it is not a direction to the jail authorities to execute the sentence. The proceedings before the court are independent of the President’s decision on mercy petitions; and it’s for the courts to see whether the decision to hang the convict is judicious".

In Dharam Pal’s case, the mercy petition has been rejected. But it is yet to be seen by the court whether condemned prisoners behind bars should be hanged, even after long delay -- an issue that has been raised by militant Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar before the apex court.

Taking up Dharam Pal’s petition for conversion of the death sentence into life imprisonment, the Division Bench of Justice AK Mittal and Justice GS Sandhawalia also issued notice of motion for April 10.

The directions came just about six years after Dharam Pal was sentenced to death. A rape convict, he had later murdered the victim and four of her family while out on parole in 1993. The petition was filed in the high court this morning and was fixed for hearing almost immediately, keeping in view the urgency involved in the mater.

Dharam Pal’s counsel told the Court that till the morning of April 5, he was detained in Rohtak Jail, but in the afternoon he was shifted to Ambala Jail “where preparations were being made for executing his death sentence on Saturday afternoon or Sunday”.

Drawing a parallel between Dharam Pal and Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar’s case, his counsel Navkiran Singh elaborated that the apex court was “seized of the matter pertaining to all the death sentence convicts whose mercy petitions were pending with the President”.

Referring to Bhullar’s case, Navkiran Singh contended that his argument before the Supreme Court was that he has earned a right to get the sentence converted into life imprisonment, due to delay in execution of death penalty. In an attempt to substantiate his contentions, Bhullar was relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench in the case of Triveni Behan.

Navkiran added: “Along with the petition, several other petitions have been tagged and the matter has been finally heard by the Supreme Court on April 19, 2012. The judgment stood reserved.”

He also referred to a public interest litigation “Shamik Narain and others versus the Union of India”, in which the Supreme Court had ordered the continuation of interim stay on the death sentence awarded to four aides of sandalwood smuggler Veerapan. The case, he added, stood adjourned for six weeks to enable the “other Bench” to deliver judgment in pending matters.

Court’s Role
The rejection of a mercy petition by the President paves the way for the execution of a convict on death row, but it is not a direction to jail authorities to execute the sentence
The proceedings before the court are independent of the President’s decision and it’s for the courts to see whether the decision to hang the convict is judicious
In Dharam Pal’s case, it is yet to be seen by the court whether condemned prisoners behind bars should be hanged, even after long delay.