1984 Anti-Sikh Riots : SC Declines Sajjan Kumar's Plea For Interim Bail

The Supreme Court on Friday turned down the plea made by Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who is serving life imprisonment for his involvement in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, for interim bail.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde observed that the plea would be considered in May during summer vacations.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Sajjan Kumar, submitted that he was undergoing medical problems, and had lost nearly 13 kilograms in jail.  Vikas Singh pressed for interim bail citing the need for private medical treatment.

The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and B R Gavai, said it will consider medical report from the AIIMS on the health condition of Kumar and will hear the petition in May.

On December 17, 2018, the Delhi High Court had set aside the lower court order that had acquitted him of the charges in the 1984 riots.

A bench comprising Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel sentenced Singh for offences under Section 302 IPC (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), Section 153A IPC (communal hatred speech) etc, in relation to the killing of five Sikhs—Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh— who belonged to the same family, in the Delhi Cantonment area following Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.