Amid Satluj row, focus on strength of judiciary and role Justice Kuldip Singh played
It has brought into focus the intervention by the judiciary, particularly by Justice Kuldip Singh, whose landmark order transformed the disappearance of Khalra into one of the most consequential human rights investigations.Khalra was abducted from outside his Amritsar home on September 6, 1995, and murdered by Punjab Police personnel soon after he exposed the alleged illegal cremations of at least 2,097 “unclaimed” bodies in the district following suspected fake encounters during the militancy era.Within days of his disappearance, Khalra’s wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, moved the Supreme Court, while then Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gurcharan Singh Tohra sent a telegram to Justice Kuldip Singh seeking immediate intervention. Even as Punjab Police denied knowledge of Khalra’s whereabouts, the Supreme Court widened the scope of the case. In a landmark order on November 15, 1995, a division bench of Justices Kuldip Singh and S Saghir Ahmad ordered a CBI probe not just into Khalra’s disappearance, but also into his “press note” that had exposed alleged illegal cremations of laawaris (unclaimed) bodies in Amritsar following alleged extra-judicial killings of Sikh youths by Punjab Police. The probe eventually established that Khalra had been murdered by police personnel, leading to five policemen being convicted. The CBI investigation also triggered multiple FIRs relating to alleged extra-judicial killings and “secret cremations of unidentified bodies” across Punjab. Justice Kuldip Singh, a Partition survivor born in Jhelum (now in Pakistan) and who later settled in Patiala, continued to shape the case through a series of landmark orders. In 1996, describing Khalra’s disappearance as the “worst crime against humanity”, he awarded Rs 10 lakh compensation to his Paramjit Kaur after her husband remained missing for over a year. He also directed that all accused policemen be transferred out of Amritsar and Tarn Taran to ensure an impartial CBI probe and later entrusted the National Human Rights Commission with determining compensation for families whose relatives had been illegally cremated. Justice Kuldip Singh died in Chandigarh in 2024 at the age of 92. Senior Supreme Court advocate and human rights activist HS Phoolka says Satluj ultimately highlights “the strength of the Indian judiciary.”Story continues below this ad “At Justice Kuldip Singh’s bhog ceremony, the conversation centered on it how many innocent people are alive today because of him. It was his guts, resilience and farsightedness that the Khalra case went to the CBI; otherwise, it would have been buried,” Phoolka told The Indian Express. “Khalra did nothing wrong. He only encouraged victims of alleged extra-judicial killings to move court and demand the whereabouts of their family members through legal process. Even after his abduction, his wife moved the Supreme Court instead of promoting any violence.” Phoolka said Khalra urged people “to pick up a pen and file petitions, not weapons” and made people believe in the judicial system. His work ultimately led to convictions in at least 63 fake encounter cases, adds Phoolka. Former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh echoed the sentiment, saying Justice Kuldip Singh’s intervention prevented the case from being buried.Story continues below this ad “We should never forget the role of Justice Kuldip Singh and the judiciary in the Khalra case. Had the CBI probe not been ordered, Punjab Police would have buried it forever. The film is not reopening wounds, but instead giving a lesson,” says Tarlochan, a former chairman of the National Minorities Commission and ex-officio member of the NHRC. The film, he says, could serve as a reminder against abuse of power. “Police personnel and their families also watch films
Discussion (0)