Chandigarh

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday said he has recommended the case of Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination of former chief minister Beant Singh, for the grant of parole so that he can meet his ailing mother.

Kataria's statement came a day after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sought his intervention for the grant of parole to Hawara.

"His (Hawara) mother is unwell. We have recommended that case on humanitarian grounds," Kataria said while interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the 'Har Ghar Tiranga-Walkathon' here.

Mann on Wednesday favoured parole for Hawara on humanitarian grounds, saying that his ailing mother had a "renewed hope" of meeting her son after 31 years.

The chief minister had said that Kataria, who is also the Chandigarh administrator, assured him that he would take up the matter with the Union home secretary.

Mann had earlier written to Kataria, recommending a 10-day parole for Hawara on humanitarian grounds.

Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of Beant Singh, also backed the parole plea on humanitarian grounds, saying Hawara's elderly and unwell mother should not suffer for her son's actions.

The former Union minister had expressed hope that the competent authorities would consider the matter expeditiously and take an appropriate decision in accordance with law.

Bittu reiterated that while his family would always honour the supreme sacrifice of Beant Singh, it also believed that compassion, humanity and peace must guide society forward.

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Last month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed authorities at Delhi's Mandoli prison, where Hawara is lodged, to decide his parole application in a time-bound manner after seeking recommendations from the Chandigarh administration.

Hawara was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted by the High Court. He is serving a life sentence in the case related to the blast at the entrance of the Civil Secretariat at Chandigarh on August 31, 1995, in which Beant Singh and 16 more people were killed.