The Supreme Court on Monday examined the petition filed by former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar challenging a Delhi High Court order sentencing him to a life term in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The top court also issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Kumar’s plea against the order as well as his bail plea and sought the agency’s reply within six weeks.
Supreme Court seeks CBI reply and posts the matter for hearing after six weeks. https://t.co/ZwgYhDSxQ1
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2019
MM Garg also rejected Kumar’s petition to be lodged in the high-security Tihar Jail but allowed his plea to let him be taken to the prison in a separate vehicle. Since there is a security threat to the convict, he is provided a separate van for commuting from jail to court and court to jail,” the court said.
Earlier, Sajjan Kumar, who has been awarded a life sentence by the Delhi High Court in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, surrendered before the Karkardooma Court on Monday, December 31st – a date that was set as a deadline by the court to surrender. Later, the court had sent him to Mandoli Jail.
However, Kumar had moved to the top court before surrendering but the plea was not taken up by the court before 31st December so Kumar has to comply with the Delhi High Court Order.
Earlier on December 17, While reversing the acquittal of a trial court, The Delhi High Court convicted Congress Leader and Former MP Sajjan Kumar and sentence him life imprisonment in connection to 1984 anti-Sikh riots that took place in the capital following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indra Gandhi. He has to surrender by 31st December 2018. Delhi High Court on December 17 had also extended the life imprisonment of other two convicts, Kishan Khokkar and former legislator Mahendra Yadav from 3 years to 10 years.
On December 21st, Delhi HC rejected Congress Leader Sajjan Kumar’s request seeking more time to surrender after he was convicted in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Kumar had approached the Delhi High Court to seek more time, till January 31, to surrender, saying that he has three children and eight grandchildren and needs to settle matters related to his property.