In the supplementary chargesheet submitted on Monday, Sohana Police “dropped” sedition charges against Babbar Khalsa terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara in a 1998 Arms Act case.
Charges under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 124-A (sedition) have been dropped against Hawara.
“Police are supposed to take sanction from the government in order to levy section 153-A, but Mohali police did not take the sanction. When police sought sanction after 22 years, the permission was denied. Police had to drop Section 124-A after apex court’s directions”, advocate Dilsher Singh Jandiala, the counsel for Hawara, said.
Police submitted a challan under sections 225 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 511 (attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life, or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).