SC-SAJJAN 2 LST

The apex court had on August 13 stayed for two weeks
trial proceedings against Kumar facing murder and other
charges in the anti-Sikh riot cases.
It had issued a notice to CBI on Kumar's appeal
challenging his prosecution.
In a special leave petition, Kumar had contended that
the complainants' testimony against him were unreliable.
He had said the complainant, Jagdish Kaur, had filed a
sworn affidavit before the Rangantha Mishra Commission on
September 7, 1995, in which she named several Congress leaders
but nowhere did she name Kumar.
But in May 2000, she filed an affidavit before the G T
Nanavati Commission naming Kumar as the man who led the mob
which killed her husband and son.
However, thereafter in her personal deposition before
the Commission, she did not mention Kumar's name anywhere, the
appeal had stated.
The counsel submitted that again in 2006, the
complainant had deposed before CBI that she had heard Kumar
inciting the mob. Hence, he pleaded her testimony could not be
relied upon.
Similarly, the counsel submitted that two other
witnesses had surfaced after 23-24 years to depose against
Kumar.
The high court had on July 19 refused to quash various
charges, including that of murder, against Kumar, saying the
delay in prosecution has apparently benefited him.
Kumar, a former Outer Delhi MP, is facing prosecution
in two cases in which he has been accused of inciting a mob
against Sikh community in the aftermath of the then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.
"The interest of justice requires that the offences
allegedly committed by accused persons are expeditiously tried
to preserve the rule of law in the society," the High Court
had said while directing the trial court to hold the
proceedings against him expeditiously in the riots cases.
The trial court had in May this year framed charges
under Sections 302 (murder), 395 (dacoity), 427 (mischief to
cause damage to property), 153A (promoting enmity between
different communities) and other provisions of IPC paving the
way for trial of Kumar and five others.
CBI had accused Kumar of provoking people against
members of Sikh community during the carnage that led to the
killing of five persons in Delhi Cantonment area.
Besides Kumar, other accused in the case are Balwan
Khokhar, Krishan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Captain Bhagmal and
Girdhari Lal.
CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and
others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on
the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which
inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.
The trial court had on July seven framed charges against
the politician in another case in connection with the
anti-Sikh riots. PTI