1984 riot HC to further hear Sajjan's plea

New Delhi, Apr 29: The Delhi

today said "further hearing is required" in the plea of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who had challenged the trial court order framing charges against him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case related to the killings of six persons.

Justice Suresh Kait, who was scheduled to pronounce the verdict today, said, "While dictating the judgement, I felt this matter should be heard further".

Justice Kait fixed May 15 as the date for further hearing in the matter. The judgement was reserved in the case by the high court in December last year.

The trial court is scheduled to pronounce the verdict tomorrow in a similar case against Kumar and five others in which the former Outer Delhi MP is accused of instigating the mob to kill Sikhs in Delhi Cantonment area here during the 1984 riots.

In the Sultanpuri case, besides Kumar, co-accused Ved Prakash Pial alias Vedu Pradhan and Brahmanand Gupta had also moved the high court against framing of charges against them. Complainant Sheela Kaur had filed a cross-appeal in the high court seeking to invoke the charges of criminal conspiracy against Kumar and other four accused in the case.

In July 2010, a trial court had framed charges against Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta, Peru, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash in connection with the case in which six persons were killed in Sultanpuri in anti-Sikhs riots that erupted in Delhi and elsewhere after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

Besides charges of murder and rioting, the court had also framed charges for the offence of spreading enmity between two communities against the accused. The CBI had filed two charge sheets against Kumar and others in January 2010 in the cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which probed the sequence of events leading to the riots.

PTI