Supreme Court denies interim relief to ex-Congress neta & 1984 riots convict Sajjan Kumar

In a significant decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court denied interim relief to former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who has been convicted in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The apex Court said that his application for bail will be considered in July, however, it has not provided any specific date. A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde heard the bail application filed by Kumar in March. 

Appearing for Sajjan Kumar, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh said that life sentence has been converted into a death penalty because Kumar is dealing with a health issue. He went on to say that it may be cancer. He informed the SC that Kumar was produced before AIIMS board, he was examined & reported back to jail. Arguing against Kumar, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that there should not be any interim bail as it is the case of genocide and Kumar was leading a mob.

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Sajjan Kumar examined by AIIMS

The Supreme Court had earlier this month directed Sajjan Kumar, to appear before an AIIMS Board to determine whether he needs to be hospitalised. A bench comprising chief justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant was hearing a bail application filed by Kumar on the ground of his medical condition.

"It appears that there is a certificate by Dr Randhir Sud, Chairman, Institute of Digestive & Hepatobiliary Sciences, Medanta-The Medicity, to the effect that Sajjan Kumar, who is the appellant, needs to be examined in order to rule out major illnesses and that he needs institutional care," the court observed. It had then noted the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that Kumar was due for a medical examination at AIIMS according to the earlier report of AIIMS dated, December 10, 2019.

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Sajjan Kumar - convict of 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Sajjan Kumar, 74, in his bail application contended that he has been in jail since December 2018 and has lost 8-10 kilograms since then. The top court had earlier in March declined Kumar's plea seeking interim bail. He had on March 3 approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent listing of his bail plea. 

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Kumar, who is the main accused in a case relating to the killing of five members of a family in Raj Nagar during the 1984 riots, was convicted on December 17, 2018 by a Delhi court and was awarded a life term. 

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