The Delhi High Court on Friday, 21 December, rejected a plea seeking more time to surrender by former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was given life imprisonment in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case earlier this week.
Sajjan Kumar had sought more time to surrender so he could settle some family matters. The court had sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment.
A Division Bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel asked him to surrender by 31 December.
Claiming his innocence, Kumar had requested the court to grant him 30 more days so that he could settle certain property matters and meet his close relatives.
In his plea, the 73-year-old said that he has a big family consisting of his wife, three children and eight grandchildren.
The Delhi High Court had on Monday convicted Kumar in an anti-Sikh riots case of 1984 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Sajjan on Trial in Second Case
Sajjan had appeared before the Patiala House Court on Thursday for a hearing in another case registered by the CBI against him on the recommendation of the Nanavati Commission.
He is facing trial on charges of murder and instigating a mob in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case pertaining to killings in Delhi's Sultanpuri area.
But the hearing was quickly adjourned for 22 January after Kumar’s main counsel Anil Sharma didn’t appear before the court for cross examination of witnesses in the case, ANI reported.
District Judge Poonam A Bamba was scheduled to record the statement of a key prosecution witness in the case and Kumar had been directed to appear before the court.
Three persons – Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta and Ved Prakash – are facing trial on charges of murder and rioting, in the case pertaining to the killing of Surjit Singh in Sultanpuri.
The witness, Cham Kaur, had on 16 November, identified Kumar before the court as one who had allegedly instigated the mob to kill Sikhs.
Kaur had told the court that she had seen Kumar allegedly addressing the crowd in national capital's Sultanpuri area in 1984 that Sikhs had killed "our mother" and instigated the mob to kill them.
“On 31 October, 1984 we were watching TV on the demise of Indira Gandhi. On 1 November, 1984 when I stepped out to look for my goat, I saw accused Sajjan Kumar addressing the crowd and was saying ‘hamari ma maar di. Sardaro ko maar do’ (They killed our mother. Kill the Sikhs).”Cham Kaur to the court
She had further said the next morning, they were attacked, following which, her son and her father were killed.
"My son Kapoor Singh and my father Sardarji Singh were pulled out of the hiding place on second floor, beaten badly and were thrown down from the roof," she had said, adding that she herself received injuries in the attack.
During the proceedings, Kaur had also identified Kumar, who was present in the court.
“I could recognise the accused Sajjan Kumar, as we used to visit him for getting help in making ration card, passport. We used to visit the accused for getting the papers stamps as he was the MP/MLA.”Cham Kaur to the court
Before Kaur, another key prosecution witness, Sheela Kaur, had identified Kumar as the one who had instigated the mob in Sultanpuri.
The case was transferred from the Karkardooma court to the Patiala House court by the Delhi High Court, which had directed the district judge to video record the proceedings at the cost of the accused.
Kumar and two other accused, Brahmanand Gupta and Ved Prakash, had said that they were ready to bear the expenses of the videography of proceedings.
The proceedings in the case were earlier stayed, after the victim and complainant Joginder Singh approached the high court, seeking transfer of the case while alleging that evidence was not being properly recorded.
The Delhi High Court had on 17 December, convicted Kumar and sentenced to imprisonment for "remainder of his natural life" in another 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying the riots were a "crime against humanity" perpetrated by those who enjoyed "political patronage" and aided by an "indifferent" law enforcement agency.
(WIth inputs from PTI and IANS)
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