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Samra seeking early date for parole Wants 22 months spent in Indian jail considered;
Gary Oakes TORONTO STAR. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Jan 14, 1994. Sec. C. pg. A.4
Full Text (421 words)
Kuldip Singh Samra - now serving life in prison for killing two men in a Toronto courtroom - wants the time he spent in pre-trial custody taken into consideration when he comes up for parole.
In a motion to be heard in Ontario Court, general division, on Monday, 47-year-old Samra will ask that the 22 months he spent in an Indian prison be included in the calculations as to when he is entitled to apply for parole.
Prosecutor Uriel Priwes will oppose the motion and argue that the sentence clock did not start running until Samra was returned to Canada in April, 1992.
Samra was found guilty by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Oscar Fonseca and Bhupinder Pannu at Osgoode Hall on March 18, 1982.
Mr. Justice Edward Then imposed the automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no parole for 25 years.
The Criminal Code permits an inmate serving such a sentence to apply after 15 years for a review of when he or she can become eligible for parole.
Samra was also convicted of attempted murder for shooting and permanently paralyzing Amarjit Tatla during the same incident.
Then remanded him until Monday for sentencing on that charge, although it is virtually academic as it must be made concurrent to the life term.
The shootings took place immediately after a judge ruled against Samra in a civil case arising from a dispute over elections in a Sikh temple.
Tatla and Pannu were on the other side of the dispute and Fonseca was their lawyer.
After the shootings, Samra fled to India, where he was arrested in June, 1990.
He wants the period from then until his return to Canada - he initially fought extradition - included in the sentencing calculations.
The Criminal Code states that the time to be served in such cases starts from the date of arrest by Canadian police and that didn't happen until Samra arrived at Pearson International Airport in April, 1992, Priwes said in an interview yesterday.
In the motion filed by legal adviser Munyonzwe Hamalengwa, Samra argued that if the time in custody in India is not included in the sentencing calculations, it would violate Samra's constitutional rights.
It would also affect his "right to life, liberty and the security of the person," the motion states.
In a personal affidavit accompanying the motion documents, Samra stated that "from a prisoner's point of view and my experience, a prison is a prison whether it is in India or Canada."
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Criminal Lawyers Association The Law Society Of Upper Canada
Last Modified: August 11, 2007
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