“It will have a huge impact on the ongoing elections.” With that oral remark, and an Intelligence Bureau report in hand, the Supreme Court put off Jagtar Singh Hawara’s Punjab Jail Transfer Plea for three months, until the upcoming Punjab elections are over; the Centre’s report had flagged law and order concerns and a possible impact on the polls.
New Delhi: Jagtar Singh Hawara, convicted for the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, will have to wait three months for the Supreme Court to hear his plea for transfer from Tihar Jail in Delhi to a prison in Punjab; on Tuesday, November 3, the Court adjourned the plea after an Intelligence Bureau (IB) report said the transfer could affect law and order and the upcoming State elections [Jagtar Singh Hawara v. Union of India & Ors.].
The matter was heard by a Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale.
The Bench’s remarks
Justice Sundresh said that the Court ordinarily has no difficulty in allowing jail visits, but described the IB report as “very damning” and orally observed that an order at this stage could have a huge impact on the ongoing elections. These were oral remarks during the hearing; the Court has not decided the plea on merits.
“Normally we have no difficulty, but if the investigating agency says it’s very damning, especially in the present scenario when the issues are alive, here and abroad. Second, it will have a huge impact on the ongoing elections.”
Senior Advocate S. Muralidhar then suggested that if the elections were the concern, the matter could be taken up after three months, once they are over. The Bench accepted the suggestion and deferred the hearing.
Why Hawara wants the transfer
Hawara seeks a jail in Punjab mainly so that he can meet his elderly mother, who is stated to be in serious condition. The Punjab government had raised concerns about the possible impact of the transfer on law and order, after which the Bench had called for inputs from the IB. The report was placed before the Court on Tuesday.
Muralidhar, for Hawara, objected to the Ministry’s stand that Tihar is more secure than prisons in Punjab, and asked that Hawara at least be allowed to meet his mother, who he said is in her nineties. He told the Court that a parole application is pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Centre’s stand
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati relied on the IB report, which raised concerns about law and order and the potential impact of the transfer on the upcoming elections in Punjab. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also taken the stand that Tihar is more secure for high-security prisoners.
What the deferral means
Prisoners’ requests for transfer closer to family engage the humane side of Article 21, including the value of contact with ageing parents. Against that, the State relies on security and public order assessments, which courts usually treat with deference when they come from intelligence agencies.
The deferral leaves Hawara’s separate parole plea before the Punjab and Haryana High Court as the immediate avenue for a meeting with his mother, while the transfer question will return to the Supreme Court after the elections.
Case Title: Jagtar Singh Hawara v. Union of India & Ors.
Bench: Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: November 3, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate S. Muralidhar for the petitioner; Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati for the Union