Lahore, February 3
For the second time, a Pakistani court has sought a larger Bench to hear a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer after the plea was last heard nearly three years ago.
A Lahore High Court two-member Bench conducted the hearing of the petition, nearly 85 years after Singh’s execution by the colonial government. The case was referred to the Chief Justice for constitution of a larger Bench after the petitioner argued that a three-member Bench had awarded the death sentence to Singh, and therefore, a Bench not less than five members should be formed to hear the plea.
Bhagat Singh was hanged on March 23, 1931, after being tried under charges of hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The petition said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another “fabricated case”.
In 2014, the Lahore police had provided the copy of an FIR to the petitioner on the court’s order. Bhagat Singh’s name was not mentioned in the FIR of the murder of British police officer John P Saunders for which he was handed down the death sentence.
