Akal Takht Acting Jathedar Meets Death-Row Convict Balwant Singh Rajoana in Patiala Jail

The meeting comes days after Rajoana wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a final decision on his mercy petition, which has been pending for years. In his September 16 letter, Rajoana said he had spent more than three decades in prison and urged the government to resolve the matter without further delay.

After the meeting, Dhami quoted Rajoana as saying, “I am in high spirits, and I accept martyrdom over humiliation.”

Rajoana was sentenced to death for his role in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. He was convicted in connection with the August 31, 1995 bombing outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, in which Beant Singh and others were killed. A special CBI court awarded him the death sentence in 2007.

The SGPC had filed a mercy petition on Rajoana’s behalf in March 2012, seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment. The petition has remained pending, making the case one of the long-running issues concerning Sikh prisoners, commonly referred to as Bandi Singhs.

Rajoana raised the issue again in his recent letter to the Prime Minister, questioning why the government had not taken a final decision on his plea despite the prolonged period he has spent in custody. He also referred to a 2019 government announcement linked to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, which included a proposal for remission in the cases of certain Sikh prisoners.

The Supreme Court is also examining Rajoana’s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence on grounds of the delay in deciding his mercy petition. In April 2026, the court directed the Centre to file its response to the petition.

The Centre had earlier told the Supreme Court that a decision on Rajoana’s mercy petition had been deferred after authorities considered security and law-and-order concerns in Punjab, which is a border state.

The SGPC has repeatedly sought a decision on the mercy petition. Dhami had also met Rajoana in Patiala jail in May 2025 and raised concerns over the prolonged delay in deciding the plea.

The latest meeting comes amid renewed activity by Sikh religious bodies over the cases of prisoners who have spent long periods in jail. The issue has also featured in recent public and political discussions in Punjab, including developments concerning another convict in the Beant Singh assassination case, Jagtar Singh Hawara.

Rajoana has remained in Patiala Central Jail for more than three decades. His case continues to involve proceedings before the courts as well as the pending mercy petition before the Union government, leaving the question of his sentence unresolved.

The meeting between the Akal Takht acting Jathedar and the SGPC chief therefore comes at a time when Rajoana's case has again drawn attention to the long-pending pleas of Sikh prisoners and the legal and administrative processes surrounding their cases.