No relief for Sajjan

Feb 19, 2010

New Delhi, Feb. 18: The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to give interim relief to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who faces the threat of arrest by the CBI for his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the national capital.

Justice A.K. Pathak, after hearing heated arguments from lawyers representing Kumar and other accused persons for over three hours, refused to restrain the CBI from arresting him till Monday.

Senior advocate I.U. Khan, appearing for Kumar, pleaded that his client should be granted interim relief. The CBI had been "very kind and generous" to him for all these years, "but somehow things have changed," he said. To this, Justice Pathak responded, in a lighter vein: "The CBI is still generous for you. This case is going on for more than 25 years."

Mr Khan said there was every possibility that his client might be arrested at any time by the investigating agency. The judge, however, dismissed the plea, saying: "It is just a matter of two days. No one will arrest him (Kumar)."

The court will resume hearing the case on Monday as Justice Pathak will be on leave on Friday. This creates the possibility that the CBI could arrest Kumar and the other accused in the case.

At the end of the day’s proceedings, Justice Pathak, while refusing to grant any relief to 64-year-old Kumar, said: "If you had appeared before the lower court (which issued the summons), then it would have been otherwise."

Mr Khan pleaded that the court should restrain the CBI from arresting Kumar as he had never violated any legal condition laid down in earlier bail applications, and had participated in the trial without influencing any witnesses or tampering with any evidence whatsoever.

The CBI has charged Kumar and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 302 (murder) and 153A (rioting). Kumar is among those accused of instigating mobs that killed over 3,000 Sikhs across Delhi in the days following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Age Correspondent

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