In a rare order, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial proceedings against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in an anti-Sikh riot case amidst the ongoing cross examination of key witness Jagdish Kaur, whose husband and son were among the seven Sikhs massacred in Sultanpuri area.
A bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan passed the “ex-parte” stay on Sajjan Kumar’s petition while issuing notice to the prosecuting agency CBI to reply within two weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on August 27.
Later, when riot victims’ counsel, senior advocate H.S. Phoolka tried to make a special mention to challenge the stay order, claiming that it might “prejudice” the ongoing cross examination of Jagdish Kaur, which is very crucial and continuing uninterrupted for the past 16 hearings by the trial judge, the bench disallowed it asked him to come on August 27 to raise any objection.
The stay is being seen as a major reprieve to Sajjan Kumar amidst the crucial cross-examination as Jagdish Kaur had proved to be a “tough nut” for defence. She had come from Amritsar to depose in the case as after the killing of her husband and son during the massacre of Sikhs, she had shifted to Punjab felling threatened in Delhi.
Sajjan Kumar in his appeal challenged the Delhi HC order of July 19 dismissing his petition challenging the framing of charges under various provisions of IPC by the trial court against him.
The HC also had directed the trial judge to expedite the trial proceedings in the case in the “interest of justice” and to preserve the “rule of the law”.
Sajjan Kumar’s counsel Nageshwar Rao sought the stay on the ground that Jagdish Kaur’s naming the Congressman as an accused is an “after thought”.
During a brief hearing, Mr Rao referred to the filing of an affidavit by Kaur before Nanavati Commission in 2000 naming Sajjan Kumar “for the first time” while prior to this there was no specific allegation against him.
The bench accepted the contentions of Mr Rao and granted the stay on trial till next hearing on August 27.
CBI had accused Kumar of “provoking” people against Sikhs in the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards.
Kaur in her deposition before the trial court had given graphic details how the head of her husband was crushed in front of her eyes and how her young son was chased by violent mob, then attacked and set on fire with the help of inflammable material.