Additional chief metropolitan magistrate, after hearing arguments of CBI and the counsel for Lakhwinder Kaur, said the court would pronounce its order on the matter on April 20.
A Delhi court today reserved its order till April 20 on CBI's closure report giving a clean chit to former union minister Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Rakesh Pandit, after hearing arguments of CBI and the counsel for Lakhwinder Kaur, a riot victim who opposed the closure report, said the court would pronounce its order on the matter on April 20.
CBI, which had on April two last year let off the Congress leader in its probe report, submitted there was nothing to proceed against Tytler as two witnesses California-based Jasbir Singh and Surinder Singh (already expired) were not reliable and their statements were "false and concocted".
Reading out different affidavits of Surinder Singh, CBI counsel Sanjay Kumar submitted he had changed his versions time and again as he first claimed that he saw Tytler leading the mob on November one, 1984, after assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi a day before and then afterwards he retracted by claiming that he did not see him on the fateful date.
"The incident was alleged to have taken place on November one, 1984. Why the witness did not file any FIR then and suddenly after 16 years, he gave an affidavit before Nanavati commission making allegations against Tytler?" he said.
The counsel also contended Surinder's father and younger brother, who were examined by the probe agency, had also
denied that the witness, who was a volunteer at Gurudwara
Pulbangash, was not present at the site at the time of riots.
CBI's counsel, who also read out a purported statement of Surinder in which he alleged that senior counsel H S Phoolka
drafted his affidavit given before the Nanavati Commission,
was strongly opposed by Rebecca M John and Brinda Grover,
counsel for Kaur.
"The counsel must keep it in mind no senior advocate drafts petition. Is Mr Phoolka on trial here?" John argued.
Kumar claimed the petition filed to protest closure report was not signed by Kaur whose husband Badal Singh was killed in the riots.
"The signature on the petition should be examined. It does not seem to be that of the victim," Kumar said.
His comments drew a sharp reaction from Kaur's counsel who alleged the CBI counsel was making a personal attack on the lawyers as he had done in the case of senior counsel Phoolka.
The CBI counsel referred to a letter purported to be written by Surinder on January 8, 2009, before his death last year to the Prime Minister retracting his version given before Nanavati Commission. Besides, he also referred to an application made by him on July seven last requesting for his statement to be recorded before a magistrate.
"No one has tested the veracity of this application given by Surinder when he was on his death bed. Who made him sign
the application? Was the probe agency not playing into the
vested hands?" John said requesting the court to reject CBI's
closure report.
Seeking a direction to CBI to further investigate the matter, John referred to the Supreme Court's judgement in Zahira Sheikh case (post-Godhra riots case) that holding "when an investigation is tainted, different yardsticks should be adopted".
In her rebuttal to CBI's arguments, she alleged CBI had propped up witnesses to falsify the versions of Jasbir and Surinder, in contrast to the Delhi High Court's programme for witness protection.
The alleged role of Tytler in the case relating to the killing of three persons, including Kaur's husband Badal Singh on November one, 1984, near Gurudwara Pulbangash in north Delhi was re-investigated by CBI after a court had earlier in December 2007 refused to accept a closure report filed by the agency.
Surinder had claimed Tytler instigated the mob that killed the three persons.
Jasbir, in an affidavit, had claimed before the Nanavati commission that he had heard Tytler on November three, 1984,
rebuking his men for "nominal killings" carried out in the
riots.
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