The Canadian government has decided to file a “Direct Indictment” against four Indian citizens in the case of the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Due to this decision, the preliminary hearing in Surrey Provincial Court has been put on hold, and the case will now be heard directly in the Supreme Court.
This information was given by quoting the spokesperson of BC Prosecution Service. Filing of a direct charge means that there will be no preliminary hearing in the case and the case will go directly to the Supreme Court for trial.
In this process, the lawyers of the accused do not get a chance to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses and collect evidence against the case.
Simply put, the lawyers accused of Nijjar’s alleged murder will not get a chance to cross-examine the government witnesses.
Why was this step taken?
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, direct prosecution is a privilege that is invoked in a very small number of cases. This is used when it is necessary to do so in the public interest, such as when there are concerns about the safety of witnesses, their families, or informants.
Who are the accused?
All four accused are Indian citizens. Their names are Karan Brar, Amandeep Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karanpreet Singh.
He was arrested in May 2024. The accused are accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar on the premises of a Gurudwara located in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023.
All four defendants have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They are in police custody and till now no one has got bail.
Next hearing and process
This hearing was originally scheduled to be held in Surrey Provincial Court on November 21, 2024, but it has been canceled. Officials say there is no tentative date or timeline for when the trial is expected to begin.
There has been no concrete progress in the judicial proceedings against four people arrested in May this year for the murder of Nijjar on June 18, 2023, in the premises of a Gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia (BC).
After the arrest of the accused, the hearing of the case has been adjourned five times. Now this matter will be presented for a case management conference in the Supreme Court on 11 February 2025.
According to the report, BC Prosecution Service spokesperson Damien Darby said, “On November 18, 2024, the prosecution blocked the Surrey Provincial Court file and has now decided to pursue a direct prosecution through the Supreme Court.”
In the first hearing held in the Supreme Court on November 18, all four accused appeared through video conferencing, while Amandeep Singh remained present through his lawyer. The court, upon application by the prosecution, and with the consent of the defence, has imposed a temporary ban on the publication of information relating to the trial.
Uncertainty over timing of trial
According to officials, a trial date or time frame has not been set yet. Several applications will be filed before the trial, but it is difficult to say how long the process will take.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials have alleged that the Indian government was involved in Nijjar’s murder. India has rejected these claims and said that Canada has not presented any concrete evidence to support these allegations.
Status of witnesses and evidence
The prosecution says that apart from the four accused, no one else has been charged yet. However, witnesses who have relevant and admissible evidence will be called to court.
The list of witnesses has not been filed yet. The spokesperson said that this list is usually filed before the start of the trial. According to the prosecution, the murder conspiracy was hatched from May 1, 2023 to June 18, 2023 in Edmonton (Alberta) and Surrey (BC). The murder was committed on 18 June 2023 in Surrey.
What is direct indictment?
There is no specific concept of “Direct Indictment” in Indian law. This process is prevalent primarily in the legal systems of Canada and other countries, where the prosecution bypasses the preliminary hearing and takes the case directly to the Supreme Court or a higher court for trial.
To some extent this corresponds to Section 209 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Under this, if in any case the accused is accused of a crime triable in the Sessions Court, then the lower court (Magistrate Court) transfers the case to the Sessions Court.
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