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Jassi-Mithu case: Accused file mercy plea on extradition before Canadian justice dept
The accused are now millionaires and own orchards at Maple Creek in British Columbia.
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Barely ten days after a three-member Punjab Police sent to Canada to take custody of the mother and uncle of Jaswinder Sidhu Jassi — a 25-year-old woman murdered in 2000 in an alleged case of “honour killing” — returned empty-handed, the duo have moved a ‘mercy plea’ on their extradition before the department of justice of the Canadian government, the state police have said.
Patiala Range inspector general of police AS Rai said, “Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur Sidhu and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha challenged the September 8 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that ordered their extradition. Now, on the extradition, they have filed a mercy petition before the Canadian department of justice. There is no clarity when this petition would come up for hearing.”
Kaur and Badesha, mother and maternal uncle of Jassi are wanted in case registered in Amargarh Police Station of Sangrur district June 10, 2000, for allegedly killing a Canadian resident Jassi, who married her love and poor lad Sukhwinder Singh Mithu from Kaunke village near Jagraon of Ludhiana district.
The accused are now millionaires and own orchards at Maple Creek in British Columbia.
In 2005, a Sangrur court awarded life imprisonment for the eight accused. Kaur and Badesha could not be tried as they were in Canada.
On Wednesday, the IG also held a meeting of officials of the three cops who were sent to Canada to take custody of the accused. “We are exploring our options, including the use of diplomatic channels.”
Why the extradition fell through
Recently, the Canadian top court had ruled in favour of the extradition of Kaur and Badesha, but it fell through at the last minute. The Punjab Police have claimed that Canadian authorities goofed-up with and did not follow the procedure laid down for the extradition in the Supreme Court order. The department claims that one of the conditions in the extradition order was that before taking the accused out of the country, the Canadian authorities had to inform the lawyer of the accused.
Kaur and Badesha were handed over to Punjab Police in the absence of the accused’s lawyer. When this happened, the counsel of the accused moved the British Columbia Court of Appeal that finally stayed the extradition, citing it as a violation of the orders of the highest court.
