SAD chief seeks Beant Singh assassin Rajoana’s release

SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said that there was no rationale to keep Rajoana behind bars, as his death sentence had been commuted and he had already been incarcerated for 26 years

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the release of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is serving jail term for assassinating former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

Balwant Singh Rajoana was convicted for his involvement in an explosion outside the Punjab civil secretariat that killed Beant Singh and 16 others on August 31, 1995.

Sukhbir asked the Prime Minister to fulfil the promise made on the eve of the 550th Parkash Purab celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019, for the release of eight Sikh prisoners who have served more than the life sentence. The SAD president also made a similar plea to Union home minister Amit Shah.

Rajoana was convicted for his involvement in an explosion outside the Punjab civil secretariat that killed Beant Singh and 16 others on August 31, 1995. A special court had in July 2007 awarded him death sentence in the case. However, the Union government had approved the commutation of Rajoana’s death sentence to life imprisonment as a humanitarian gesture in 2019.

The former Punjab deputy chief minister sought personal intervention by the PM so that Rajoana’s clemency plea could get expedited. “The matter warranted the urgent attention of the Prime Minister since a clemency petition under Article 72 of the Constitution, which was filed by the SGPC in March 2012, was still pending with the President,” Sukhbir said, adding that the Supreme Cou.rt had also issued a notice to the Union government to take a call on the mercy petition by April 30.

Sukhbir said that there was no rationale to keep Rajoana behind bars, as he had already been incarcerated for 26 years, which was much longer than the effective duration of a life term.