New Delhi [India], September 6 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday allowed the plea of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who sought a direction for two media houses to place on record certified copies of some news reports published between November 2 and November 11, 1984.
Sajjan Kumar is facing trial in an anti-Sikh riots case linked with FIRs registered at Janakpuri and Vikas Puri Police Stations.
Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh allowed the application and directed two media houses to file a certificate of authenticity and a fresh printout of the news articles mentioned in the application.
The court has also allowed the plea of Sajjan Kumar to take on record the statement of a witness in a previous case as defence evidence in the present case. The witnesses were from the Indian Red Cross Society and had deposed in context with the blood donation camp organised by Sajjan Kumar in November 1984. The said witness is not available.
An application was moved on behalf of Sajjan Kumar to show that the accused organised or participated in peace marches and blood donation camps in and around the riot-affected area.
Advocate Anil Kumar Sharma, along with Apoorv Sharma and Anuj Sharma, argued that through these newspaper reports, the accused aims to demonstrate that he was not only a Member of Parliament for the area where the incident occurred, but also that he was visible to the public even after the events. Therefore, there was no reason for the witnesses not to have recognised or named him for several years or decades.
On July 7, Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar denied the charges levelled against him in the 1984 Anti Sikh riots case. He stated before the Rouse Avenue court that he was not present at the site of the riots and was falsely implicated.
The Janakpuri case pertains to the killing of two Sikhs, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, on November 1, 1984. The second case was registered in the Vikaspuri police station related to the burning of Gurcharan Singh on November 2, 1984.
The court had discharged Sajjan Kumar from the offence of murder on August 23, 2023.
The Court had framed Charges against Sajjan Kumar under sections of IPC 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (offence is committed by any member of unlawful assembly in prosecution of the common object of that assembly), 153 (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 307 (attempt of murder), 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (deals with punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 395 (Punishment for Dacoity) and 426 (Punishment for mischief) etc.
The Special court while ordered framing of charges stated that, "This court is of prima facie view that the oral and documentary evidence placed on record by prosecution is sufficient to hold that an unlawful assembly or mob consisting of hundreds of persons and armed with deadly weapons like dandas, iron rods, bricks and stones etc. had gathered near the Gurudwara situated in Gulab Bagh, Nawada on 01.11.1984."
Court had noted that the accused Sajjan Kumar was also a part of the said mob and common object of the said mob was to put the above said Gurudwara on fire and to burn and loot the articles lying therein and also to burn and destroy the houses of Sikhs situated in the said locality, to damage, destroy or loot their articles or property and to kill the Sikhs residing in that locality, in order to avenge killing of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Hence, a prima facie case is held to be made out against the accused/Sajjan Kumar, for commission of the offences punishable under sections 147, 148, 149, 153A, 295, 307, 308, 323, 395, 436 IPC and charges are accordingly directed to be framed against him for the said offences.
Further, in alternative, a charge for the offence of abetment defined by Section 107 IPC and made punishable by Section 109 read with 114 IPC in relation to the above said offences is also directed to be framed against the accused as the accused being principal abettor was present at the scene of crime, when the offences abetted by him were committed by the other unknown offenders.
However, as far as the offences committed during the incident dated 02.11.1984 and which relate to the murder of Sohan Singh and Avtar Singh at the hands of members of the mob or crowd, which had gathered on that date near or outside the Congress party office in Uttam Nagar, and also the injuries suffered by complainant Harvinder Singh in the said incident, are concerned, the accused is being discharged for the offences Under section 302 and 325 IPC respectively committed in the said incident for the reasons already discussed in this order, court had said.