The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea by a Black Cat Commando who had participated in Operation Sindoor, seeking exemption from surrendering in a dowry death case. The petitioner was convicted over twenty years ago under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the death of his wife.
While declining to grant exemption, the apex court stated that participation in Operation Sindoor does not grant immunity for committing atrocities at home, as reported by Live Law.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Vinod Chandran heard a special leave petition challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had upheld the petitioner’s ten-year rigorous imprisonment sentence while dismissing his appeal. The petitioner had also filed an application seeking exemption from surrendering until the apex court’s proceedings concluded.
After the court indicated that exemption was unlikely, the petitioner’s counsel attempted to persuade the judges by emphasising his client’s service record. According to Live Law, the counsel submitted before the court, "I can only leave with one line—I am a participant of Operation Sindoor. For the past twenty years, I have been a Black Cat Commando posted in the Rashtriya Rifles, my lord."
This argument had no effect on the bench. Justice Bhuyan responded, "That does not give you immunity from committing atrocities at home. This only demonstrates how physically fit you are—and the manner in which you alone could have killed your wife, strangulated your wife."
Justice Bhuyan stressed that the petitioner had been convicted of a serious offence, stating, "This is not a case for exemption. It was a gruesome act—the manner in which you strangled your wife. Exemption is for cases where the sentence is six months, three months, or one year." Justice Vinod Chandran added that the High Court had already dismissed the petitioner’s appeal against conviction, observing, "The High Court has dismissed your appeal. You are here on special leave."
The court granted the petitioner two weeks to surrender.
According to reports, Baljinder Singh was convicted by an Amritsar court in 2004 under Section 304B of the IPC for his wife’s death. His brother-in-law, a witness in the case, testified that Singh and his father had strangled the victim with a chunni (a traditional headscarf), while Singh’s mother and sisters restrained her by holding her arms and legs.
