Court accepts CBI's closure report against Jagdish Tytler

"There is no sufficient material to send Tytler to trial," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit said.

It pointed out that the statement of California-based witness Jasbir Singh had "no relevance" and that the statements of another witness Surinder Singh were "self- contradictory".

Accepting the CBI's closure report giving a clean chit to the former Union Minister, the court said that there was no ground to order further investigation in the case.

The CBI had submitted that there was nothing to proceed against 66-year-old Tytler as two witnesses, Jasbir Singh and Surinder Singh, were not reliable and their statements were "false and concocted".

The alleged role of Tytler in the case relating to the killing of three persons, including one Badal Singh in 1984, near Gurudwara Pulbangash in north Delhi was re-investigated by the CBI after a court had in December 2007 refused to accept a closure report filed by the agency.

Rebecca M John, counsel for Badal Singh's wife Lakhwinder Kaur who had filed an application before the court protesting the closure report against Tytler, said they will challenge the order.

"This is not the final order. We are going to challenge it. Whether in Sessions or in High Court, we will decide later," she said.

Expressing her disappointment at the order, she alleged that the CBI "deliberately did not bring out the witnesses in the support of the case.

"After the arguments, we thought we were able to bring home our point of view but that was not to be," she said.

The CBI had in its report submitted on on April 2 last year claimed that there was lack of sufficient evidence against the Congress leader in the case pertaining to the murder of three persons on November one, 1984, following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The prosecuting agency had said that Jasbir absconded in 2004 after filing of the charge sheet in the case which was lodged with IP Estate police station here in 1997. His passport was ordered to be impounded by authorities and he was residing in the US illegally.

Reading out different affidavits of Surinder Singh during argument on closure, CBI counsel had submitted that he had changed his versions time and again.

He first claimed that he saw Tytler leading the mob on November one, 1984, following assassination of Gandhi a day before and then afterwards he retracted by claiming that he did not see him on the fateful date, the counsel claimed.

Opposing the closure report, Kaur's counsel had alleged that CBI discredited the witnesses in the case in order to "shield" Tytler.

"The probe agency recorded statements of so many persons but failed to examine Satto Singh, father of Jasbir, who is present even now before the court, till date," she had submitted.

Jabir, in an affidavit, had claimed before the Nanawati Commission that he had heard Tytler on November three, 1984 rebuking his men for "nominal killings" carried out in the riots.

Surinder had claimed Tytler instigated the mob that killed the three persons.