SC denies bail to Sajjan Kumar

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a bail plea filed by former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, lodged in Tihar jail after being convicted in 2018 by the Delhi high court for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said this was not an ordinary case, brushing aside concerns raised by Kumar’s lawyer regarding his health. “This is not a small case. We cannot grant you bail at all,” CJI Bobde remarked.

“The application for grant of bail is dismissed,” the order passed by the bench, which also comprised justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said.

The CJI, however, said he will list the appeal filed by Kumar challenging the high court verdict as soon as physical hearing restarts in Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is functioning through video conference since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. It has been hearing only a limited number of cases -- mostly those which require urgent relief.

On May 13, the apex court declined an interim bail plea by Kumar, saying he does not require immediate hospitalisation. The court had called for a medical report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on March 4 after Kumar’s lawyers first raised health concerns.

The Delhi high court, in December 2018, convicted the 74-year-old politician and sentenced him to life imprisonment for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which broke out after the then PM Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards.

In Delhi alone, 2,733 persons were killed. Kumar was convicted for murder (section 302 of IPC), criminal conspiracy (section 120B), promoting enmity between religious groups (section 153A), destroying houses and places of worship using fire or explosive substances (section 436) and defiling places of worship (section 295).