1984 riots: HC reserves verdict on Sajjan Kumar's plea

The Delhi High Court today reserved its verdict on Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's plea challenging the trial court order framing charges against him in one of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.

Justice Suresh Kait reserved the order after the counsel for Kumar, CBI and various victims concluded their arguments on Kumar's plea.

Appearing for Kumar, counsel Amrender Sharan submitted before the court that in 2002 his client was acquitted by a special court in the case and CBI had registered another case in 2005 against him and others with an ulterior motive.

He also said the investigating agency has named those persons as prosecution witnesses who had already testified in an earlier case for the alleged killing of 60 persons during the riot, in which he had been acquitted.

Appearing for the victims, senior counsel H S Phoolka contended Delhi Police had deliberately suppressed evidence against Kumar due to his political connections and the probe agency had made faulty investigations in the case so that the accused would get the benefit of law.

The trial court had on July 1, 2010, framed charges against Kumar and Brahmanand Gupta, Peru, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash for the murder of six persons at Sultanpuri area in North-West Delhi in the riots that had taken place in the wake of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi On October 31, 1984.

CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which had inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.