All India Sikh Student Federation has called for a Punjab Bandh ‘on December 30, 1986 to protest against Delhi High Court’s verdict upholding death sentences to Satwant Singh, Kehar Singh and Balbir Singh in Indira Gandhi assassination case. The Federation has also appealed to all Sikhs living outside Punjab to keep their business establishments closed on that day to register indignation at the flagrant travesty of justice.
‘The three member bench comprising Justice Ranganathan, Justice Kirpal and Justice Chawla observed in their Judgement that the plan to murder was “conceived not by depraved motivation or immoral impulses but by the highest and noblest impulses — loyalty to one’s religion”, and the accused, therefore, deserved to be punished with “utmost severity”. The logic justifying the “utmost severity” in punishment for an act prompted by highest and noblest impulses is just not patently absurd but is symptomatic of the pathological animosity towards Sikhs that seem to have afflicted the judiciary also.
Loyalty to one’s religion can by no stretch of imagination be considered a criminal act. Because no civilized religion, least of all Sikh religion, condones or advocates criminal activity . The impulses that have their origin in the religious ethos and code can be anything but criminal.
‘What could be the motivation, then? It could not be revenge nor could it be anger. There is nothing noble about either revenge or anger. It could only be an overwhelming sense of justice that found its expression in a judiciously carried out retribution. The criminal outrage against Akal Takht and the senseless massacre of the innocent pilgrims merely to gain electoral victories by exploiting the majority community’s intolerance of other religions proved to be self-invoked curses that made the bloody end a foregone conclusion.
If, for argument sake, it were to be conceded that the fatal shots ‘were fired by Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, surely they must have acted out of a compelling sense of righteousness, especially when they had before them the glorious tradition of Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh who had beheaded the power drunk Massa Rangar for violating the sanctity of the Golden Temple. The fact of the grave provocation and the extenuating circumstances were totally ignored by both the Sessions Judge and the three member bench. The trial in itself was conducted in a farcical manner as all normal judicial procedures were either bypassed or twisted to facilitate the desired judgment.
‘The Defense Counsel, Mr. PN. Lekhi, was not allowed to ‘examine officials who were closely linked with the chain of events on the fateful day of October 31, 1984. They could provide materially important information and help unravel the mystery about the widely believed theory of “Palace Coup”. He was also denied excess to the findings of the Thakur Commission that was specifically instituted for enquire into the circumstances leading to the assassination. No convincing explanation was given to the recovery of bullets from the body that did not match with those supposedly fired by Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. Who was the third assailant? Why did the Commander of Security Forces kill Beant Singh after he had surrendered himself? Why was the Commander not arrested and tried for murder?/All these important questions were posed by the Defense Counsel but the Judge dismissed them as irrelevant.
‘The circumstantial evidence created to implicate Kehar Singh and Balbir Singh reads like a bad piece of detective fiction. Two innocent Persons are being sent to the gallows simply to authenticate the hollow theory of a conspiracy.
It is significant that Delhi condemns them to death but Amritsar honours them ay great heroes the writing on the wall is clear. If the growing dichotomy between the two cities is subjected for further strains like execution of these heroes, then, the permanent parting is round the corner.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 26, 1986
