The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Chandigarh administration to pass speaking orders within a month on a petition filed by Gurmeet Singh, one of the convicts in the Beant Singh assassination case, for consideration of his release on completion of 18 years behind the bars.
Former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 17 others were killed in a bomb blast at the state civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.
The petition came up for hearing before a bench headed by justice Satish Kumar Mittal on Friday.
Appearing for the Centre, Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu told the court that the union government had nothing to do with the case and it was up to the Chandigarh administration to take a decision on Gurmeet's release as the petitioner was behind the bars in the Model Jail in Burail, which was part of Chandigarh.
Gurmeet was arrested on September 5, 1995 and sentenced to life imprisonment on July 31, 2007. He has pleaded that he has undergone more than 12 years of actual sentence and more than 18 years of sentence, including remissions. The petitioner said that as per the Punjab jail manual, the state government provides remission of two years of sentence, going by which he had undergone a total sentence of more than 18 years.
Gurmeet told the court that as per the Punjab jail manual, 1996, the convicts who had been sentenced to life imprisonment were required to undergo 12 years of actual imprisonment and 18 years of imprisonment, including remission. He also pleaded for his early release citing his "good conduct" in jail.
{{/usCountry}}Gurmeet told the court that as per the Punjab jail manual, 1996, the convicts who had been sentenced to life imprisonment were required to undergo 12 years of actual imprisonment and 18 years of imprisonment, including remission. He also pleaded for his early release citing his "good conduct" in jail.
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