Human Rights Advocate Navkiran Singh
CHANDIGARH (KP)-- In a recently released statement, well known Human Rights advocate, Navkiran Singh discloded that he had filed a petition in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana a year back, wherein Jathedar Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara's solitary confinement was challenged.
The grounds were that the Supreme Court of India had, through its full bench judgements, held that a person who is waiting to be executed cannot be kept in solitary confinement, as the jail administration has not been directed by the court to keep that person in solitary confinement, and since lodging an inmate in solitary confinement was a punishment under the law.
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"Hawara has been kept in a small cell, from where he is taken out for one hour in the morning and in the evening and the rest of the time he cannot even see sunshine." |
Hawara has also challenged the actions by Burail Jail Chandigarh not allowing him to meet his close relatives and also not making available to him a religious minister, to which he was entitled under the Punjab Jail manual.
The counsel submitted before the court that jail authorities are unnecessarily mentally torturing Hawara and are not even allowing him basic facilities to which he is entitled under the Law. Even his defense lawyers, under fear of false implication in some case, have not met Hawara for a long time in the fixed meeting place. They only meet him when he is produced in court and also right under the nose of the jail staff and intelligence officials, who overhear each word uttered by Hawara or his counsels instead of in private.
Bhai Sahib Hawara has been kept in a small cell, from where he is taken out for one hour in the morning and in the evening and the rest of the time he cannot even see sunshine. Its also very alarming to note that Hawara has never been allowed to write or receive letters from his relatives or friends and even the letters of his counsels, which as per the Jail rules, cannot be read by anyone, are not handed over to him.
Hawara’s Counsel has complained to the court of the sadistic attitude of the Jail authorities, however the decision on the case is now expected to be on 21st Nov 2008.
