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Supreme Court: Can’t suspend Sajjan Kumar’s life term without a hearing
New Delhi
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to suspend the life term handed to former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying it was not an ordinary case.
“We cannot pass orders without hearing the matter. This is not a simple matter,” a bench of justices SA Bobde and SR Gavai told Kumar’s lawyer, senior advocate VIkas Singh, who argued that his client had been convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence and that he was never a part of the attacking mob. Kumar is seeking suspension of sentence awarded to him.
Singh urged the court that the plea be heard. But the bench preferred to hear the main appeal during the summer break next year, which will be in May and deferred the matter. Kumar, 73, who is lodged in jail, had resigned from the Congress after he was convicted and given a life term by the Delhi high court.
The case relates to the killing of Sikhs in Delhi Cantonment’s Raj Nagar Part I in Southwest Delhi on November 1-2 in 1984 and burning down of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar Part II. The anti-Sikh riots broke out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her two Sikh bodyguards.
Kumar was convicted and sentenced on December 17 last year by the high court, which said he would be in jail for the “remainder of his natural life.”
The HC reversed the trial court order acquitting Kumar, and convicted him for criminal conspiracy and abetment in commission of crimes of murder, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of communal harmony and defiling and destruction of a gurdwara.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the complainant, said Kumar was earlier acquitted by the trial court but then was convicted by the HC on “very cogent reasons”. Singh pointed out to the contradictions in the statement of a “star witness” and questioned the HC verdict on the grounds that it relied upon such a statement.
Singh argued that Kumar had helped to rehabilitate victims after the 1984 riots. Urging the bench to suspend Kumar’s sentence, Singh said his client was ready to be put under any condition. He was open top even remaining out of Delhi, the senior advocate said.
“You may have some point but we would not like to interfere like this and suspend the sentence,” the bench said. Dave submitted that 825 persons were “slaughtered” in the constituency from where Kumar was the Member of Parliament (MP) in 1984 and from 1984 to 2006, the police did not take any action.
“These are so powerful people that original FIR is missing. The high court has recorded this in its judgement. This was a systematic failure of the entire police system for 22 years,” Dave said.
