On Thursday (21st December), the Union Home Minister Amit Shah replied to the debate in Rajya Sabha on the newly passed Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill 2023. In his address, he specified that no NGO can file a mercy petition on behalf of the convict. He added that one who does not feel remorse does not have a right to file a mercy petition.
Amit Shah’s response came a day after Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal raised the issue of Bandi Sikhs, Balwant Singh Rajoana, Devendrapal Singh Bhuller, Gurdeep Singh Thehra and others. She said that the mercy petitions filed for these convicts have been pending for the last 12 years and the new laws do not have any provisions for their relief. Amit Shah in his response underlined that to ask for mercy, one should first remorse for the crime he has committed.
Amit Shah said, “We have made a lot of provisions regarding the mercy petitions. One can file a mercy petition within 30 days of rejecting a plea in the Supreme Court. No NGO can file a mercy petition on behalf of the convict. One who has committed the crime should feel remorse for the crime and beg for the mercy of the honourable president of India. Then only his mercy petition will be considered valid and will be taken into consideration.”
He further said, “We receive a lot of such mercy petitions in which the criminals say that they do not believe in the constitution of India. Also, some other people file mercy petitions on their behalf. If you do not believe in the constitution of India, then the provisions of mercy petitions do not apply to you. Better you get hanged. One who does not feel remorse does not have a right to file a mercy petition.”
Amit Shah also addressed this issue in the Lok Sabha
While replying to the debate on the bills in Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said, “There were suggestions regarding the provisions of the mercy petitions. It was said that a ‘third party’ should be given the right to file the mercy petitions. I am strictly against it. If a person who has committed a crime does not feel any remorse for the sin he has committed and has no realisation of what crime he has committed, he has no right to use the word mercy. One who feels remorse for his crimes has the right to ask for mercy.”
Amit Shah said, “Harsimrat Kaur Ji, I understand very well what you want to say. If a person commits terrorist activity, goes to jail, and then says that he does not believe that he has done anything wrong – and we have mercy on that person? I do not agree with this. This can never be done.
Amit Shah was referring to issues raised by Harsimrat Kaur Badal
On 20th December, Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal participated in the debate in Lok Sabha over the three new bills. In her address, she said, “Punjabis and particularly Sikhs are a community who have sacrificed the most for the nation. In the decade of 1980s, the situation in Punjab was not good. A few youths from Punjab went astray in their emotions and took some steps for which they have been imprisoned for the last 28 to 30 years. I am talking about our Bandi Sikhs. Because in the new laws, there is nothing which will enable the Bandi Sikhs to get justice.”
She added, “There were youths like Bhai Rajoana (Balwant Singh Rajoana), Devendrapal Singh Bhuller, and Gurdeep Singh Thehra who took certain steps because of the situation in Punjab. All of them are jailed for the last 28, 30, or 35 years. How can they be imprisoned for so long without any justice? This is a violation of human rights and humanity.”
She further said, “About mercy petitions. it is said in the new laws that only the immediate family of the person can file a mercy petition. Balwant Singh Rajoana has been in a cell of size eight feet by eight feet for the last 28 years. His mercy petition was filed 12 years ago. No decision has yet been taken on the petition by a court or the government. If he has no immediate family, as his parents have died, who will file a mercy petition for him? What kind of law you are bringing in? His prior petition has not been decided for 12 years. Is there any greater injustice than this?”
Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “Balwant Singh Rajoana is 65 now. Other convicts in the Beant Singh murder case get parole and they come out and stay at their homes. Even Rajiv Gandhi’s killers have come out. Society has no problem with them as their conduct in prison was good. But when it comes to Balwant Singh Rajoana, the government says anti-social elements can not be set free – that too after so many years.”
Who is Balwant Singh Rajoana?
Balwant Singh Rajoana is given the death penalty for his role in the assassination of Punjab’s former chief minister Beant Singh. In July 2007, Rajoana was convicted for his involvement in the explosion outside the Punjab civil secretariat that killed Beant Singh. The blast took place on August 31, 1995, outside the Punjab and Haryana civil secretariat in Chandigarh. Along with Punjab’s former chief minister Beant Singh, 16 others were killed in this explosion.
In 2012, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) filed a mercy plea demanding the commutation of the death sentence of Rajoana. In 2019, to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Central Government announced a decision to reduce Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death penalty to life imprisonment and to free eight Bandi Sikhs who remained incarcerated despite having served their sentences. Giani Raghbir Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takht, has formed a committee to address the matters of Rajoana and other Bandi Singhs with the Prime Minister’s Office by the end of December.
Reactions from the political arena
Reacting to Amit Shah’s recent remarks, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said, “The demand of releasing Bandi Singhs is within the scope of the Constitution. Shah’s remarks are contrary to the Centre’s notification.”
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Harmeet Singh Kalka, however, said that Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s decision to raise this issue in parliament was unnecessary. He said, “When the issue of Bandi Singhs was being followed by Akal Takht constituted panel, there was no logic of raising it in the Lok Sabha.”
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa commented that Harsimrat’s raising of the issue was a strategy to garner political advantage. While discussing the Bills intended to replace the IPC and the CrPC, Harsimrat suggested amending the provision that currently permits only the convict’s family to file a mercy petition.