Patiala, Punjab (March 19, 2012): As per recent media reports, the Central Jail, Patiala authorities have returned the “balck or death warrant” of Chandigarh Court directing execution of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana on March 31, 2012. The authorities are reproted to have pleaded their inability to execute the hanging orders since the death sentence was awarded to Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana by a court whose jurisdiction falls outside the State of Punjab. It is notable that Chandigarh is a territory that is under the control of Central Government of India.
As per death warrants issued by additional session judge Chandigarh court Shalini Nagpal, Rajoana, who had confessed his role in assassination of chief minister of Punjab late Beant Singh, is scheduled to be hanged on March 31.
“Attaching a letter with the death warrant sent back, the Patiala jail authorities have said that since the bomb blast that killed Beant Singh on August 31, 1995, in which Rajoana was the back-up bomber, had occurred in Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh and the trial of that case was also carried out in Chandigarh there was no point of hanging him in Patiala jail” reports “Hindustan Times (HT)”.
“Rajoana was in Patiala Central Jail since November 2010, because another case against is pending in a Patiala court in which 12 kg of RDX was recovered from him in Patiala. So there was no point of hanging him in Patiala,” media sources inside the Patiala Jail authorities are reproted to have said on the condition of anonymity.
The news report further informs that “a highly placed official from jail department in Chandigarh said the decision to revert back the death warrant has been taken after due consultation of legal experts and discussion of the issue at various levels of the state government including the chief minister’s office”.