CBI can arrest Sajjan Kumar, says Delhi high court

There is nothing that stops the CBI from arresting Congress politician Sajjan Kumar, the Delhi high court said on Thursday. It was hearing a bail plea by Kumar, an accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The court adjourned the hearing till February 22.

Judge AK Pathak refused to restrain the CBI from arresting Kumar till Monday.

While the CBI requested the court not to grant Kumar bail since action was being taken against him after 25 long years, the politician’s lawyer IU Khan sought to stop the arrest saying his bail application was pending.

The CBI has charged Kumar with murder (section 302), promoting enmity between communities (section 153-A) and criminal conspiracy (section 120 B).

Action against Kumar was first initiated after the justice GT Nanavati Commission report spoke of his  role in the anti-Sikh riots.

The commission was set up to investigate the deaths of around 2,000 Sikhs killed on the streets of Delhi in riots following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by a Sikh guard. The commission submitted its report in 2005, but it took almost five years for the CBI to frame charges against Kumar.