Rajoana’s foster sister moves HC pleading ^{life imprisonment in place of death penalty}

Patiala: Kamaldeep Kaur, the foster sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who had assassinated former Punjab CM Beant Singh, has moved a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking conversion of his death penalty to life imprisonment.
The move comes in contradiction to the stand taken by Rajoana, who had till date has been maintaining he would not move any court against the death penalty awarded to him for assassinating former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh on August 31, 1995.
Kamaldeep Kaur said it had been over 22 years now and his petition for clemency that was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) with the President of India was still pending.
Rajoana had been sentenced to death by the Chandigarh Sessions Court on July 31, 2007. The sentence was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 11, 2010. Following this, the Sessions Court of Chandigarh had ordered Rajoana’s execution on March 31, 2012.
However, citing law and order situation the state government lead by the SAD had moved against the execution orders and the SGPC filed a clemency petition with the President of India. While the execution was stayed on March 28, 2012, the issue of clemency remained pending.
Peeved at the delay in deciding this petition, Rajoana went on a hunger strike on November 3, last year inside the Patiala Central Jail. He ended his hunger strike on November 10 after the SGPC President Kirpal Singh Badungar assured him that the committee would take up his case with the President of India.
Kamaldeep Kaur said that despite all assurances his case was still pending and therefore she had decided to file a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek conversion of the death penalty awarded to him to life imprisonment and set him free as he has already spent 22 years behind bars. The case was today taken up by the court, which fixed November 2 as the next date of hearing.