<p>New Delhi: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=delhi%20high%20court">Delhi High Court</a> on Thursday granted time to the city government to file its response on a plea by former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=1984%20anti-sikh%20riots">1984 anti-Sikh riots</a> case, for release from jail on furlough to re-establish social ties.</p><p>Justice Ravinder Dudeja also allowed a plea by Khokhar seeking to advance the date of hearing from February 4, 2026 to an earlier date.</p>.1984 riots: Delhi High Court asks Centre, police to reply to Sirsa’s plea over report on ‘Kamal Nath’s presence’.<p>The high court now listed the matter for hearing on December 5 and asked the government and jail authorities to file their status report before the next date of hearing.</p><p>“In the meantime, the state should place on record its reply,” it said.</p><p>The court had earlier issued notice to the government and jail authorities on Khokhar's plea.</p><p>The convict has sought quashing of a September 4 order of the jail authorities rejecting his furlough application on the grounds that his release could pose a threat to public peace and order.</p><p>He sought the court's direction to issue a direction to the authorities to release him from jail on first spell of furlough for 21 days to re-establish his social ties with his family members and in society.</p><p>Furlough is a temporary release from prison, not a suspension or remission of the entire sentence, and is typically granted to long-term inmates who have served a portion of their sentence.</p><p>Khokhar, along with four others, was convicted in 2013 by a trial court for the offences of murder and rioting. However, former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was acquitted in the same case.</p><p>The case dates back to November 1, 1984 when five Sikh individuals were killed and a gurdwara in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar was torched following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.</p><p>In December 2018, the high court upheld Khokhar's conviction and sentence, while overturning the acquittal of Kumar.</p><p>Khokhar's appeal against the high court's verdict is currently pending before the Supreme Court. </p>
<p>New Delhi: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=delhi%20high%20court">Delhi High Court</a> on Thursday granted time to the city government to file its response on a plea by former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=1984%20anti-sikh%20riots">1984 anti-Sikh riots</a> case, for release from jail on furlough to re-establish social ties.</p><p>Justice Ravinder Dudeja also allowed a plea by Khokhar seeking to advance the date of hearing from February 4, 2026 to an earlier date.</p>.1984 riots: Delhi High Court asks Centre, police to reply to Sirsa’s plea over report on ‘Kamal Nath’s presence’.<p>The high court now listed the matter for hearing on December 5 and asked the government and jail authorities to file their status report before the next date of hearing.</p><p>“In the meantime, the state should place on record its reply,” it said.</p><p>The court had earlier issued notice to the government and jail authorities on Khokhar's plea.</p><p>The convict has sought quashing of a September 4 order of the jail authorities rejecting his furlough application on the grounds that his release could pose a threat to public peace and order.</p><p>He sought the court's direction to issue a direction to the authorities to release him from jail on first spell of furlough for 21 days to re-establish his social ties with his family members and in society.</p><p>Furlough is a temporary release from prison, not a suspension or remission of the entire sentence, and is typically granted to long-term inmates who have served a portion of their sentence.</p><p>Khokhar, along with four others, was convicted in 2013 by a trial court for the offences of murder and rioting. However, former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was acquitted in the same case.</p><p>The case dates back to November 1, 1984 when five Sikh individuals were killed and a gurdwara in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar was torched following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.</p><p>In December 2018, the high court upheld Khokhar's conviction and sentence, while overturning the acquittal of Kumar.</p><p>Khokhar's appeal against the high court's verdict is currently pending before the Supreme Court. </p>