1984 riots case: Delhi high court refuses to stay trial against Sajjan Kumar

The Delhi high court today refused to stay the trial against senior Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which six persons were killed.

Justice AK Pathak declined the plea of Kumar, against whom the charges of murder and rioting were framed by a lower court, to immediately stay the trial till his petition challenging framing of charges is decided by the court.

Refusing the plea of the politician to stay the criminal proceedings for his alleged involvement in riots in Sultanpuri Area, the court issued notice on his petition to CBI and asked the probe agency to file its reply by September 16 when the case will be further taken up for hearing.

Two cases were registered against the former outer Delhi MP for his involvement in anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The apex court had earlier stayed the proceedings against him in one of the cases in which five persons were killed in Delhi Cantonment area.

The trial court had on July 7 framed formal charges of murder, rioting and spreading enmity between two communities against Kumar and others relating to the killing of six persons in Delhi's Sultanpuri locality.

The court had on July one ordered framing of charges against Kumar and Brahmanand Gupta, Peru, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash in the case.

The CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of Justice GT Nanavati Commission which had inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.