New Delhi, India (April 29, 2013): The Delhi High Court on April 29, 2013 deferred the decision on plea of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who had challenged a trial court order, framing charges against him in a November 1984 Sikh massacre case related to the killings of six Sikhs. The High Court reportedly said that “further hearing is required” in this matter.
According to media reports Justice Suresh Kait, who was scheduled to pronounce the verdict on Monday, said, “While dictating the judgement, I felt this matter should be heard further.”
Justice Kait has reportedly fixed May 15, 2013 as the date for further hearing. It must be noted here that the judgement in this case was reserved by the high court in December last year.
The trial court is scheduled to pronounce the verdict on April 30, 2013 in a similar case against Kumar and five others in which the former Outer Delhi MP is accused of instigating the brutal killings of Sikhs in Delhi Cantonment area here during November 1984.
In the Sultanpuri case, besides Kumar, co-accused Ved Prakash Pial alias Vedu Pradhan and Brahmanand Gupta had also moved the high court against framing of charges against them. Complainant Sheela Kaur had filed a cross-appeal in the high court seeking to invoke the charges of criminal conspiracy against Kumar and other four accused in the case.
In July 2010, a trial court had framed charges against Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta, Peru, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash in connection with the case in which six persons were killed in Sultanpuri massacre that was part of wider plan of Sikh genocide.
Besides charges of murder and rioting, the court had also framed charges for the offence of spreading enmity between two communities against the accused.
The CBI had filed two charge sheets against Kumar and others in January 2010 in the cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of Justice G. T. Nanavati Commission which probed the sequence of events leading to the killings.
It is worth mentioning that during last three decades justice has been consistently denied to the victims and survivors of the Sikh genocide 1984 by the Indian state, that has patronized the politicians and others who had led the massacres. Moreover, genocide is not a crime specific under Indian law, as there is no legislation that prohibits or punishes the crime of genocide.