The Hindu : New Delhi News : CBI asked to explain delay in filing appeal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

CBI asked to explain delay in filing appeal

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6. The Delhi High Court today gave two weeks to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file an additional affidavit explaining the circumstances which delayed filing of an appeal against the acquittal of the former Congress Member of Parliament, Sajjan Kumar, and the party's Delhi MLA, Jaikishan, and eight others in one of the '84 Sikh riots cases here.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice D.K. Jain and Justice A.K. Sikri asked the Additional Solicitor-General, K.K. Sud, appearing for the CBI, to file the affidavit within two weeks. The matter would now come up for hearing on May 17.

Mr. Sud agreed to a suggestion by the Court to file an additional affidavit explaining the "casualness'' and "negligence'' on the part of the investigating agency to seek permission from the Union Government for filing an appeal in the matter after the expiry of the 90-day period for filing an appeal in a criminal case.

Initially, Mr. Sud insisted on arguing the case on the basis of another affidavit filed earlier by the agency. However, he later changed his stand after consulting a CBI official present in the courtroom.

The Additional Sessions Judge, Manju Goel, had in December 2002 acquitted Sajjan Kumar, Jaikishan and the eight other accused in the case. Riots had broken out in the Capital in the wake of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.

Acquitting the accused, Ms. Goel had said: " The prosecution (CBI) has miserably failed to prove the case against them.''

The Judge had said that there was no eyewitness in the case and nor was the prosecution able to make an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence to make out a foolproof case.

Quoting a relevant paragraph of the statement recorded by Anwar Kaur on whose statement on oath the Delhi police had registered the case, Ms. Goel had said that she (Anwar Kaur) was not sure in her statement whether Sajjan Kumar was leading the mob which had lynched her husband, Nevin Singh, at Sultanpuri in West Delhi on November 1, 1984, after indulging in arson and loot.

There were a total of 13 accused in the case. Three of them died during the trial. Ms Kaur had in her statement said that a mob instigated by Mr. Sajjan Kumar had killed her husband in front of her residence.

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