Don't try to stall proceedings: Supreme Court to Sajjan Kumar and others

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today said the accused in anti-Sikh riots case, including Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, are trying to stall the proceeding at trial court by approaching higher courts at every stage but agreed to hear their plea for quashing the charges of murder and rioting in the killing of six persons during the 1984 carnage.

"You are stalling the proceeding at every stage. Please do not stall the proceedings," a bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik observed.

The bench, however, agreed to hear the plea of Sajjan Kumar, Brahmanad Gupta and other accused after their lawyer submitted that the trial court and the Delhi High Court committed an error by dismissing their plea for quashing charges.

The bench, after a brief hearing, adjourned the case and posted it for hearing on October 4.

Dismissing the plea of Kumar, the High Court had affirmed the trial court's order saying charges could be framed if there is a strong suspicion leading the court to think that there is ground for presuming that the accused has committed the offence.

The High Court, however, refused to frame the additional charge of conspiracy against him and co-accused Ved Prakash Pial and Brahmanand Gupta saying there is "no evidence to show the meeting of minds".

The court also rejected the pleas of Pial and Gupta challenging the framing of charges against them.

"It is a settled law that at the initial stage if there is a strong suspicion which leads the court to think that there is ground for presuming that the accused has committed the offence, a charge would be framed," the High Court had said.