Supreme Court rejects Sajjan Kumar's plea

The Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s plea to quash criminal cases in the riots, paving way for his trial.

The Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s plea to quash criminal cases in the riots, paving way for his trial.

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A Bench headed by Justice P. Sathasivam rejected Kumar’s argument that he could not be tried in the case after a gap of 26 years, as it violated his fundamental right to speedy trial.

“Though ... every accused is entitled to speedy justice, ultimately it depends upon various factors/reasons and materials placed (before the Bench) by the prosecution,” the court said.

The apex court said the material placed by the Central Bureau of Investigation was sufficient to proceed against Kumar. The guilt or otherwise of the accused could be determined only at the trial, it said.

A Delhi trial court has now fixed September 23 as the date for resume trial against Kumar.