New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar on pleas challenging his acquittal in a case related to the killing of a person during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar jail serving a life term after his conviction in another case related to the riots.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma issued notice to Kumar on the CBI application seeking leave to appeal against the acquittal order of the trial court.
The bench also issued notice to Kumar on an appeal by Sheela Kaur, one of the witnesses, against the verdict.
On September 20, 2023, Special Judge Geetanjli Goel acquitted Kumar in the case by giving him the “benefit of doubt” and said the prosecution “failed to prove the charge against the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt”.
The trial court had also acquitted two other accused –Ved Prakash Pial and Brahmanand Gupta — holding that the prosecution failed to prove the case of murder and rioting against them.
A Sikh man Surjit Singh was killed during the incident in Sultanpuri.
Kumar was accused of various offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc. (Section 153A), abetment of any offence (Section 109), murder (Section 302) and rioting (147).
The riots had broken out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
The matter would be heard next by the high court in October.
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