Pb guv grants pardon to farmer-activist undergoing life term in murder case: Min Randhawa

Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore granted pardon to farmer-activist Manjit Singh Dhaner, who was serving life term in a murder case, and he walked out of the prison on Thursday evening, state's Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said.

After the governor's decision, an order has been issued by Principal Secretary Jails, Punjab, R Venkat Ratnam.

"The orders signed by the governor in this regard pardoning Dhaner, whose appeal against conviction with life imprisonment was dismissed by the Supreme Court in September earlier this year, were received today," Randhawa said in a release on Thursday evening.

Dhaner has undergone nearly 16 months of "actual sentence" while three-and-a-half years with remission (excluding parole), the release quoting an official order said.

"Keeping in view the relevant material and facts, mitigating factors and special circumstances of the case and reports of the ADGP (Prisons), Punjab, District Magistrate Barnala and SSP, Barnala, the Governor of Punjab grants pardon to the life convict, Manjit Singh... in exercising of the powers vested under Article 161 of the Constitution (power of Governor to grant pardons, etc, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases)," it said.

Late in the evening, Dhaner was released from the jail in Barnala where he was lodged. He was given a grand welcome by the large number of farmers who were sitting on protest in Barnala to support the demand of him being granted a pardon.

A large number of farmers had been holding a protest in Barnala for past nearly two months to support the demand of his release from prison.

In 2005, Dhaner was convicted on the charges of murdering a man whose relative is one of the accused in a kidnapping, rape and murder case of a student in 1997.