The High court of Punjab and Haryana rejected the plea for suspension of sentences of two accused that were found in possession of incriminating material which was to be used by them to incite people to wage war against the government of India and establish Khalistan.
Facts
The FIR was filed against the accused under multiple sections of IPC and UAPA alleging their involvement in inciting people to wage war against India to establish an independent state/nation of Khalistan. The accused moved to the High court seeking suspension of their sentence under section 389 of CrPC after serving more than 4 years of their sentence.
Applicants’ Submissions
The counsel for applicants submitted that the applicants had been falsely implicated and the material recovered from them does not attract any provisions of IPC or UAPA. The counsel further contended that since no weapons or explosive was recovered from the applicants, it was ‘farfetched’ that they intended to wage a war against the government. The counsel added that it was not proved that the applicants were part of the unlawful assembly “Babbar Khalsa International” and pleaded that the suspension of their sentences be extended since they have already gone through more than 4 years of R.I out of their total sentence of life imprisonment.
State’s Response
The counsel appearing for state submitted that the applicants were active members of banned terrorist organization “Babbar Khalsa International” and were indulged in ‘anti-national activities’. The counsel added that the material found with the applicants was sufficient to incite the youth to get involved in anti-national activities and pleaded that no suspension of sentence be extended to them.
Court’s Decision
The division bench of Justice Jaswant Singh and Justice Sant Parkash observed that incriminating material was found in possession of the applicants which was propagating the cause of khalistan. The court said “A reasonable inference can be drawn that the primary object of keeping and distributing such material was the establishment of Khalistan on Baisakhi. The applicants-appellants kept the aforesaid material with them with the intention of using the same for propaganda and inciting the people to resort to violence with a view to wage war against the Government of India, so that an independent State/Nation in the name of Khalistan be formed.” The court commented on the gravity of the offence and said “The offence, alleged to have been committed are very serious in nature and in the given circumstances, we do not find any merit in the instant application and the same is dismissed”.
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