New Delhi: A city court on Saturday sent two 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases involving Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and nine others to a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge for hearing from March 27.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Lokesh Kumar shifted the cases to the sessions court while refusing to take up a plea filed by the accused seeking documents from the investigating agency.
When Sajjan Kumar and other accused, who appeared personally, objected that the CBI had not provided them supporting documents of the chargesheet, Lokesh Kumar said the plea should be taken up in the sessions court.
"I am not impressed with the arguments and contentions of the accused. It seems that the application has been filed to cause further hindrance in committing the case to the sessions court," he said.
The cases were shifted by Lokesh Kumar as the does not have the power to hear murder cases.
Sajjan Kumar had sought certain documents and statement of witnesses recorded by the investigating agency during the probe into the matter.
Senior advocate I U Khan, appearing for the Congress leader, submitted that the CBI has failed to supply the documents necessary for a fair decision of the court. He had a tough time convincing the court to go through the documents running into over 100 pages.
"I have gone through the contents of the application and perused the documents. The bunch is so bulky, it is humanly impossible to examine the same within a short span of time," Lokesh Kumar said.
There was tight security on the court premises with restrictions on protests outside the court while the hearing was on.
On March 10, the court granted bail to Sajjan Kumar and others. The accused furnished a surety and personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. The CBI also provided a copy of the chargesheet to all of them.
Sajjan Kumar appeared in court after non-bailable warrants were issued against him and others on two occasions by a city court.
On February 26, he and others were granted anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for families of riot victims, said: "We have already moved to the Supreme Court against the high court order."
The former Delhi MP, along with Girdhari Lal, Balwan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Maha Singh, Capt Bhagmal, Santosh Rani and Krishna Khokhar were named as accused in the murder of five persons in Delhi Cantonment area during the 1984 riots.
The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Kumar and others in two cases for allegedly instigating mobs after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.
Over 3,000 Sikhs across Delhi were killed in the communal frenzy in the days following the assassination.
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