With the Intelligence Bureau (IB) telling the Supreme Court that shifting Jagtar Singh Hawara to a jail in Punjab could “significantly impact the Assembly elections” in the state, the issue of Sikh prisoners or Bandi Singhs is back in the focus.The apex court is currently hearing a plea filed by Hawara, a convict serving a life sentence in Delhi’s Tihar jail for the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking a transfer to a jail in Punjab to be closer to his ailing mother. Last week, the top court posted the matter to February 22, 2027, when the state could be in the middle of elections.The demand for the release of Bandi Singhs has remained a recurring political issue for the past 14 years. It has been pursued through fasts, marches and sit-ins.In 2023, protesters under the banner of the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha gathered at the historic Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Mohali and marched towards Chandigarh, demanding the release of prisoners who “have served more than the normal period of a life sentence”.Read | Why Bhagwant Mann’s parole request for Beant Singh assassin has sparked a rowThe Chandigarh Police stopped the protesters at the city’s border on the same day, setting the stage for the pakka morcha, an indefinite agitation that continues to this day.The Morcha considers it a significant achievement that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and several other political parties have either supported or expressed sympathy with its demands.The agitation has a longer history. In November 2013, activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa went on a hunger strike, bringing the issue of the release of Sikh prisoners to the centre of Punjab’s political discourse. Another activist Surat Singh Khalsa subsequently undertook a similar fast. The release of prisoners was also among the three demands of the Bargari Morcha, a Sikh socio-political movement. Over the years, several prisoners have secured release, remission or parole.Story continues below this adThe Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) too has compiled a list of 21 Sikh prisoners lodged in different jails. The Qaumi Insaaf Morcha, meanwhile, has focused on nine prisoners who have spent between 15 and 31 years behind bars.Freed after years in jailSeveral prisoners who figured in the campaign have since been released.Dilbagh Singh, convicted in 2007 for the 1992 murder of former militant Jagmail Singh in Patiala district, was released in December 2018 following legal and advocacy efforts by UK-based Sikh Relief and orders issued by the Punjab government under then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.The 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019 saw a series of remission-related decisions by the Centre. Nand Singh, convicted along with Subegh Singh in the 1995 murder of Bachan Ram in Chandigarh, was released from Patiala Central Jail that year.Story continues below this adIn 2020, Lal Singh, a convict under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, or TADA, was permanently released from Nabha jail. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997 after weapons were recovered at Mumbai’s Dadar railway station in 1992.Some others are now outside prison on parole or following court orders.Daya Singh Lahoria, extradited from the US in 2009 and jailed in connection with the abduction of Rajinder Mirdha, son of Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha, has been on permanent parole since December 2021.Harnek Singh Bhap, a former Khalistan Liberation Force militant who was jailed in 2004 in the same abduction case, began receiving parole in 2020 and secured permanent release in 2024. Both Lahoria and Bhap were lodged in Rajasthan jails, where provisions for permanent parole enabled their release.Story continues below this adAmong those convicted in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, Gurmeet Singh first secured parole in 2014, following Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa’s agitation, while Shamsher Singh was granted parole in 2016. Both, along with Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, have been out on interim bail since 2023, following orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Lakha, who spent more than 26 years in jail, was lodged at Model Jail, Burail, before being released on bail.Two prisoners in the 1993 Delhi blast case and a related 1990 bombing case — Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and Gurdeep Singh Khera — have each spent more than 31 years in custody. Both were transferred to Amritsar Central Jail in 2015-16 and are granted regular parole.The Centre issued notifications for their release on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th birth anniversary. However, both continue to remain in prison.Four who have never been granted paroleStory continues below this adOnly a handful of prisoners on the Morcha’s list have never stepped outside jail on parole. All four are convicts in the Beant Singh assassination case.Paramjit Singh Bheora was arrested in 1997. He escaped from Burail jail on January 23, 2004, and was arrested again in March 2006. He has spent more than 27 years in Model Jail, Burail, and has never availed parole. One case against him is pending.Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has spent more than 30 years in prison, was sentenced to death. The Union Home Ministry stayed his execution in 2012, and the Centre subsequently issued a notification for commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th birth anniversary. However, a writ petition seeking formal commutation is pending before the Supreme Court. Rajoana is lodged at Central Jail, Patiala. He has never availed parole, and no case is pending against him.Hawara, arrested in 1995, has spent more than 30 years in prison. His appeal against conviction is pending before the Supreme Court. He escaped from Burail jail in 2004 and was arrested again in 2005. Cases against him are pending in courts in Mohali and Chandigarh.Story continues below this adJagtar Singh alias Tara was arrested on September 13, 1995. He escaped from Burail jail in 2004 and was arrested in January 2015. Three cases against him are pending — one in Patiala and two in Jalandhar.