NEW YORK, NY: Federal Magistrate Ronald J. Hedges ruled out further hearings in the extradition case of Sukhminder Singh and Ranjit Singh Gill. Hisaction, however, has cleared the way for the proceedings on their habeas corpus petition.
The original hearing was fixed for November 15 but the magistrate in a letter-opinion and order on Nov 7 said he had originally issued the Certifications after he found probable cause and had reopened the proceedings because of the over-helming evidence of wrongdoing by the prosecutor Judy Russell.
The magistrate however concluded that the respondents had not been prejudiced by the prosecutor’s known misconduct. Judy, Russel’s misconduct was revealed when the FBI found out that she had forged threatening letters to herself and magistrate Hedges. These letters were purported to be on behalf of sympathizers of the two Sikhs. They caused the federal marshals to take extraordinary security precautions and this clouded the perceptions of the people and the media.
The respondents were originally arrested by the F.B.I at a gas station in New Jersey on an international warrant issued by that they were wanted in connection with some criminal activities there.
Both have been functionaries of the All India Sikh Students Federation and had escaped from India after being falsely implicated in a case of attempted murder of a superintendent of police called AP. Pandey. A commission of inquiry appointed by the Punjab government and headed by Justice Ajit Singh Bains had exonerated both of them but the police still did not drop the cases against them. They were also accused of killing former Indian army General Vaidya who had led the army’s bloody assault on the Golden Temple in 1984.
The respondents had filed requests for the “discovery” of relevant information pertaining to the known misconduct of Judy Russel but their request was virtually denied by the magistrate. He however did order a few documents to be produced before him by the government for his examination alone. The lawyers for the respondents were not permitted to see these documents. He also examined the respondents interrogatories (questions to be answered under oath) which the respondents had posed to 12 individuals who had filed affidavits on behalf of the Government of India. The purpose of these interrogatories was to know whether ‘or not these individuals had executed the affidavits and whether it had been changed or not.
Magistrate Hedges examined these documents and the magistrate denied the respondents request that further proceedings be held before a new magistrate as is typically required by the U.S. extradition law. Speaking to the WorId Sikh News Ms. Mary Pike the lawyer of concluded that affidavits central to establishing probable the respondents cause were not manufactured or altered. Since the probable cause was in the magistrates opinion established, there was no need for further hearing because he indicated that he would come to the same conclusion. The magistrate denied the respondents requests that further proceedings be held before a new magistrate as is typically required by the U.S. extradition law. Speaking to the World Sikh News Ms. Mary Pike the lawyer of the respondents said, “The magistrate’s decision clears the way for proceedings on the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Ranjit and Sukhminder in March 1988. The proceedings before the magistrate have in the interim served to compound the essential incorrectness of his original decision.”
Article extracted from this publication >> November 18, 1988
