New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday whilst upholding the trial court order, granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar who is also an accused in two Sikh genocide related cases.
Justice Anu Malhotra dismissed the plea by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the 1984 Sikh pogroms, seeking to cancel the anticipatory bail of Sajjan Kumar, saying that as per the records, he was available throughout the investigation, media sources said.
The reported records indicate that pursuant of the orders (of the trial court), Sajjan Kumar has made himself available for investigation and it has been submitted on his behalf that he shall continue to do, the court said. The SIT was not able to make out any ground for cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Sajjan Kumar, it further stated.
On consideration of the totality of circumstances put forth, it is held that presently there are no grounds made out by the petitioner (SIT) for cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Kumar on December 21, 2016, reads the quote from the order passed by the bench, published in an English daily.
It was on December 12 that the Delhi high court reserved its order on the SIT plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail.The SIT had contended that the trial court order granting anticipatory bail to Sajjan Kumar was perverse and overwhelming circumstances were ignored.
The Congress leader was granted anticipatory bail by a trial court on December 21, 2016 in two cases of killing of three Sikhs during the violence which had occurred after the death of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Notably, last month the Supreme Court of India (SCI) appointed another Special Investigating Team to re-investigate the investigation carried out by the SIT appointed by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) back in 2015. Earlier this week CBI after more then three decades admitted in the court that the statements of the witnesses recorded by Delhi police was altogether faulty. And now the Delhi High court has granted bail to one of the main accuse in Sikh killing cases Sajjan Kumar.
It is widely believed that these initiatives are more then time consuming tactics rather then being a sincere efforts to provide justice to the victims of such tragic events.
There two cases filed against Kumar fall in the jurisdictions of Janakpuri and Vikaspuri police stations in West Delhi. The complaint in Janakpuri pertains to the killing of two Sikhs, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, on November 1, 1984 and in the other, where another Sikh, Gurcharan Singh, was burnt on November 2, 1984 in the jurisdiction of Vikaspuri Police Station, reads a quote from a report published in Times Of India (ToI).