How Justice Kuldip Singh’s Landmark Order Turned the Khalra Case into a Human Rights Probe
The controversy surrounding the ban on the film ‘Satluj’ — based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra — has highlighted the critical role played by the judiciary, particularly former Supreme Court judge Justice Kuldip Singh. His intervention transformed Khalra's disappearance into one of the most significant human rights investigations in India.
Khalra was abducted from outside his Amritsar home on September 6, 1995, and murdered by Punjab Police personnel after he exposed the alleged illegal cremations of at least 2,097 “unclaimed” bodies in the district, believed to be victims of fake encounters during the militancy era.
Within days of his disappearance, Khalra’s wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, approached the Supreme Court. Then Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gurcharan Singh Tohra also sent a telegram to Justice Kuldip Singh seeking immediate intervention. Despite Punjab Police denying knowledge of Khalra’s whereabouts, the Supreme Court expanded 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 only into Khalra’s disappearance but also into his “press note” that had exposed the alleged illegal cremations of unclaimed bodies in Amritsar following extra-judicial killings of Sikh youths by Punjab Police.
The investigation established that Khalra was murdered by police personnel, leading to the conviction of five policemen. The CBI probe also triggered multiple FIRs related to extra-judicial killings and secret cremations of unidentified bodies across Punjab.
Justice Kuldip Singh, a Partition survivor born in Jhelum (now in Pakistan) who later settled in Patiala, continued to shape the case through a series of orders. In 1996, describing Khalra’s disappearance as the “worst crime against humanity”, he awarded Rs 10 lakh compensation to 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 probe and later entrusted the National Human Rights Commission with determining compensation for families of those 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 said ‘Satluj’ highlights “the strength of the Indian judiciary.” He recalled that at Justice Kuldip Singh’s bhog ceremony, the conversation centred on 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 said.
He added that Khalra did nothing wrong but encouraged victims of alleged extra-judicial killings to move court and seek the whereabouts of their family members through legal processes. Even after his abduction, his wife moved the Supreme Court instead of promoting 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 led to convictions in at least 63 fake encounter cases.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh echoed the sentiment, saying Justice Kuldip Singh’s intervention prevented the case from being buried. “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,” he said, adding that the film could serve as a reminder against abuse of power.
