Fresh warrant against Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riots case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) came in for a stinging criticism from a Delhi court on Tuesday for its failure to arrest Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The Karkardooma court, which had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the former Congress parliamentarian on February 17, slammed the agency for “not being serious about apprehending” Kumar and other accused in the related cases.

The court also issued a fresh NBW against all the accused and asked the CBI director to personally supervise the process.
Kumar’s lawyer IU Khan argued against the fresh NBW, saying that the Congress leader was not running away and was merely exploring statutory remedies available to him by approaching a higher court.

The court rejected Khan’s argument, issuing the NBW for March 10. “The court will not work at the mercy of the accused. At present the accused persons are abusing their rights,” it said.

However, in a minor reprieve for Sajjan Kumar, the court accepted CBI’s closure report in one case against him registered with the Mongolpuri police station, as the complainant, Harvinder Kaur, failed to appear.