'84 riots case: CBI questions court's power to hear

The CBI on Saturday questioned the power of a Delhi court to decide on its probe report giving clean chit to former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on the ground that a Metropolitan Magistrate does not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter.

The CBI on Saturday questioned the power of a Delhi court to decide on its probe report giving clean chit to former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on the ground that a Metropolitan Magistrate does not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter.

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"Since the matter relates to an offence of murder, it is to be transferred to a sessions court which can decide who is to be summoned as accused based on the probe report," CBI counsel told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit.

CBI counsel A K Srivastava said the sessions court in this case was vested with the power of taking cognisance of the offences as the case of murder could be tried only by it and not by a court of metropolitan magistrate.

He referred to a number of apex court judgements to argue that the court could summon accused Suresh Kumar Paniwala, who has been chargesheeted by CBI, while leave the decision regarding Tytler, who has been given a clean chit, to the sessions court.

Opposing the contentions of CBI, the riot victims' counsel Rebecca M John said a magistrate only takes cognisance of all offences, whether triable by it or not.

The court, taking all contentions into considerations, reserved its order for August 22.