Missing chargesheet with Sajjan Kumar’s name presented in court

NEW DELHI - A city court Saturday found itself in a “peculiar situation” after a chargesheet naming Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots but lying in the police files for years, was presented in court.

The chargesheet was signed on 8.4.92 and had Sajjan Kumar’s name on it.

Additional Sessions Judge V.K. Goel said: “This is a peculiar situation because according to the procedure, the police needs to file the chargesheet in the court, then it goes to the metropolitan magistrate and then comes to the sessions court. This case directly coming to me puts me in a difficult situation.”

The court slated the matter for further arguments May 15.

Counsel for the Sikh victims H.S. Phoolka said: “This is big manipulation from the police’s side. The reason that this FIR was not pursued by the police is because Sajjan Kumar is an accused. When the police could not remove his name from the chargesheet (FIR 67/87), they completely forgot about it.”

Explaining the reasons for the “missing chargesheet”, Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajiv Ranjan said: “It was misplaced because we clubbed it with another FIR.”

To which the special public prosecutor said the police has no right to club FIRs, and only the court has the power to decide this. He also wanted to know why only the chargehseet in which Sajjan Kumar’s name appeared was the one to go missing.

Last week, the court had asked Ranjan why the chargesheet was not on record when Delhi Police were claiming that the report was ready to be filed in the court.

A panel of special prosecutors appointed by the Delhi High court in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case found an FIR registered in 1987 in Nangloi police station is still pending with no action taken on it. Kumar was charged in this case.

Sajjan Kumar is accused of allegedly instigating mobs after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards Oct 31, 1984.

Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed across Delhi in the communal frenzy in the days following the assassination.