Supreme Court rejects interim bail plea by 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar

Supreme Court rejects interim bail plea by 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar

Today the Supreme Court rejects interim bail plea by 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict, Sajjan Kumar former Congress leader who is serving a life sentence in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, has received a major setback from the Supreme Court. Sajjan Kumar, who was a Lok Sabha MP from Delhi, was accused of murder, conspiracy, inciting riots and making inflammatory speeches.

The Bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian rejected the bail plea that put in for interim bail on medical grounds.  The Supreme Court currently refused to grant interim bail on the basis of age and illness and said that the appeal against Sajjan’s sentence would be heard after the Court reopens for physical hearing.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh on behalf of Sajjan Kumar stated that interim bail be granted to Kumar on health grounds as he has been in jail for 20 months, has lost around 16 kg weight and needs to recover from past illness while Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who was representing the riot victims and who is currently in his native village in Punjab, opposed the bail plea.

In December 2018, Delhi High Court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment. Since then, he is in jail.

The bench refused to grant bail, stating that Sajjan Kumar’s medical report stated that he was not required to be hospitalized at this time, and therefore should not stay in the hospital. Sajjan Kumar, serving a life sentence in the Sikh riot case at Mandoli Jail in East Delhi, had sought bail on the grounds of ill health.

By Priya Kumari