SC Slams Delay in Executing Beant Singh’s Assassin

SC Slams Delay in Executing Beant Singh’s Assassin

New Delhi, September 25, 2025 – In a scathing rebuke that has reignited the long-festering debate on capital punishment in India, the Supreme Court on September 24, 2025, lambasted the government for the "inordinate and inexplicable delay" in deciding the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the convicted assassin in the 1995 bombing that killed Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and 16 others. A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan, hearing a contempt petition filed by the victim's family, expressed profound frustration over the 13-year pendency of Rajoana's mercy plea, submitted in 2012, and directed the Home Ministry to expedite the process within four weeks. "The delay is not just administrative lethargy; it undermines the rule of law and the finality of judicial verdicts," Justice Gavai remarked, his words echoing the court's exasperation with successive governments' inaction. Rajoana, a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative sentenced to death in 2007 for his role in the suicide bombing outside Chandigarh's Sector 17 on August 31, 1995, has become a symbol of Punjab's turbulent past, his case mired in political sensitivities, Sikh community appeals, and human rights concerns. As the ruling lands amid heightened security in Punjab—where drug wars and farmer protests simmer—the Supreme Court's slam isn't mere judicial thunder; it's a clarion call for closure in a tragedy that scarred a generation, demanding accountability from a system where mercy petitions languish in limbo, turning justice into a distant dream.

The Beant Singh assassination remains one of the most audacious attacks in India's history, a brazen act of terror that targeted the architect of Punjab's counter-insurgency operations during the 1980s-90s Khalistan militancy. On August 31, 1995, as Singh's maroon Ambassador car navigated the crowded streets of Chandigarh, a human bomb detonated, the suicide vest packed with 5 kg of RDX and ball bearings shredding the vehicle and claiming 17 lives, including the CM's close security officer, Romesh Kumar, and four bystanders. The attack, claimed by BKI—a Sikh separatist group founded in 1980 by Talwinder Singh Parmar—was the culmination of a vendetta against Singh, who as Punjab's DGP from 1980 to 1983 and CM from 1992 to 1995, oversaw operations that neutralized over 20,000 militants but drew accusations of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings. Rajoana, then 25 and a BKI foot soldier, confessed to driving the car and triggering the device, his role confirmed by co-conspirator Jagtar Singh Tara, who executed the bombing and escaped to Pakistan. The CBI's chargesheet, filed in 1997, painted Rajoana as the "key facilitator," leading to his 2007 conviction under IPC sections for murder, conspiracy, and explosives, with the death sentence upheld by the Punjab & Haryana High Court in 2010.

The case's legal labyrinth began unraveling in 2012, when Rajoana's mercy petition was filed under Article 72 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to grant pardons. However, political crosswinds—Rajoana's status as a "sikh prisoner of conscience" among Khalistan sympathizers—led to stays and stays, with the Supreme Court intervening in 2013 to halt execution amid protests. The NDA government's 2014 return saw the petition forwarded to the Home Ministry, but successive regimes—NDA and UPA—cited "sensitivities" to delay, the file shuttling between ministries for 13 years. By 2025, with Punjab under AAP's Bhagwant Mann, the plea gathered fresh momentum, but the SC's September 24 hearing—stemming from a 2017 contempt petition by Beant Singh's daughter, Rubinder Kaur—exposed the inertia. Justice Viswanathan questioned Attorney General R. Venkataramani, "How can a mercy petition pend for 13 years? This is not mercy; it's mockery." The bench noted 1,200+ mercy petitions pending nationally, Rajoana's the oldest, violating the 2014 SC guideline for decisions within three months. Slam? Supreme—the court's censure, a catalyst for closure.

The assassination's backdrop is Punjab's blood-soaked 1980s-90s, where Operation Blue Star (1984) and Indira Gandhi's killing ignited Khalistan insurgency, claiming 30,000 lives. Beant Singh, DGP during Blue Star, earned the moniker "Mr. 10 Percent" for alleged extra-judicial encounters, his 1992 CM tenure seeing 5,000 militants neutralized but human rights groups documenting 2,500 fake killings. The BKI, founded by Parmar (Air India bombing 1985 mastermind), targeted Singh as "butcher of Sikhs," Rajoana's radicalization stemming from 1991's family encounter deaths. The bombing, using a Maruti 800 packed with RDX from Pakistan, was Tara's brainchild, Rajoana volunteering as driver, detonating via a headband switch. Post-blast, chaos reigned—Chandigarh's Sector 17 a warzone, Singh's body identified by dental records. Legal? Labyrinthine—Rajoana's 2007 death sentence, Tara's life term (extradited 2018), Jagtar Johal's 2017 UK abduction complicating. Slam's significance? Symbolic—13-year delay, Punjab's past unresolved.

Rajoana's mercy petition, filed March 2012 by brother Bikram Singh, cites "reform" and "Sikh sentiments," garnering 10 lakh signatures from Akal Takht and SGPC. The UPA's 2012 stay, NDA's 2014 referral to Home Ministry under Rajnath Singh, stalled—2017 SC contempt by Kaur family highlighted inaction. 2022 AAP government's Mann appealed for commutation, citing "healing," but SC's 2023 directive for decision within six months lapsed. 2024 NDA return under Modi saw file to Amit Shah, but September 24 hearing—Kaur's petition—exposed "administrative apathy." Justice Gavai: "Delay defeats justice; decide or commute." Direction: Home Ministry report in four weeks, Rajoana's hanging stayed pending. Petition? Pendulum—mercy's maze, SC's slam a swing.

Implications profound: SC's rebuke pressures executive, mercy petitions' backlog (1,200+) spotlighted—2014 SC guideline (three months) flouted. Punjab? Polarized—Mann's "humanitarian" vs BJP's "justice for victims." Sikh diaspora (UK's 500,000) rallies, Johal's case linking. Nationally? Capital punishment debate—1,500 executions since 1947, Rajoana's the longest delay, echoing Afzal Guru's 2013 hanging. Human rights? Amnesty's 2025 report slams "arbitrary delays," urging abolition. Profound? Pivotal—implications ignite inquiry.

Public reaction? Polarized—Chandigarh protests September 25, 500 victims' kin demand "justice now," SGPC's Gurdwara rally 2,000 for "Sikh prisoner." #JusticeForBeant 1M X posts, #FreeRajoana 800K. Media? The Tribune September 25: "SC's Wake-Up Call." Indian Express: "Punjab's Unhealed Wound." Reaction? Raw—public's pulse, polarized.

Legal experts? Varied—Attorney Deepak Gupta September 25 NDTV: "Delay violates Article 21 right to speedy justice." Senior advocate Indira Jaising: "Commute; death arbitrary." K.T.S. Tulsi: "Execute; terror unpunished." Experts? Eminent—legal lens, legacy's light.

Government's gambit? Shah's Home Ministry, September 25 briefing: "Process expedited, decision soon." Mann's AAP: "Human rights paramount." BJP's Sunil Jakhar: "Victims' voices ignored." Gambit? Gyrating—government's grace under fire.

Rajoana's saga? Symbolic—Sikh militancy's scar, Punjab's peace fragile. 1995's blast, 17 dead, Rajoana's 2007 death, 2012 mercy, 2025 SC slam—saga's shadow lingers. Saga? Significant—Rajoana's reckoning, resolution's road.

September 25, 2025, slams SC's—delay's denouncement, justice's jolt. Beant Singh's assassin, Balwant Singh Rajoana, mercy's maze—shadow's short. Slam? Supreme—SC's censure, closure's call.