New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday ordered
framing of charges against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a
1984 anti-Sikh riot case relating to murder and spreading
enmity between two communities.
Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta allowed CBI`s
plea seeking prosecution of Kumar under various sections of
IPC after finding prima facie evidence against him.
The court said that the charges under Sections 302
(murder), 395 (dacoity), 427 (mischief to property), 153A
(promoting enmity between different communities) will be
framed formally on May 18.
The framing of charges will pave the way for trial in
the case. The Delhi High Court had earlier issued direction to
complete the trial within six months of cases relating to
anti-Sikh riots.
CBI had accused Kumar of provoking people against
members of a particular community during the carnage that
followed the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi on
October 31, 1984, leading to the killing of five persons in
Delhi Cantonment area.
On the other hand, Kumar had claimed the accounts of
CBI witnesses were not reliable as they had changed their
versions a number of times.
"There are contradictions between different statements
and affidavits given by witness Jagdish Kaur. She did not name
Sajjan Kumar either in her first statement before police on
November 3, 1984, or before Justice Rangnath Mishra Commission
and Jain-Banerjee Committee that inquired into the riots," he
had claimed.
The former Outer Delhi MP had also contended that the
case against him could not stand as CBI re-registered it even
though a Delhi court had given him a clean chit, accepting a
cancellation report filed by Delhi Police.
The probe agency, however, had also sought framing of
charges against Kumar for being involved in sedition saying he
had incited people belonging to one community against another.
Besides Kumar, other accused in the case are Balwan
Khokhar, Krishan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Captain Bhagmal and
Girdhari Lal.
CBI had filed two charge sheets against Kumar and
others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on
the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which
inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.
PTI
