1984 riots: SC asks CBI to respond to Balwan Khokhar’s plea for suspension of sentence
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the CBI to respond to a petition filed by former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, a convict in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, seeking suspension of his life sentence.
A Bench led by Justice JK Maheshwari gave two weeks to the CBI to file its response to Khokhar's plea after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati sought time on behalf of the CBI. She pointed out that the top court had earlier rejected his bail plea on three occasions.
The Bench also asked the ASG to get certificates from jail authorities on the conduct of the convict.
Around 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs, had died in the riots in the national capital in the aftermath of assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
Besides Khokhar, former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar is serving a life term in the case. Ex-MLA Mahender Yadav, who was awarded 10-year sentence, died of covid in Mandoli jail.
Sajjan Kumar and Balwan Khokhar are lodged in Tihar jail since their conviction on December 17, 2018.
Khokhar’s life sentence was upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2018, while it overturned Kumar's acquittal by the trial court in 2013.
The case relates to the killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar Part-I in Palam Colony in southwest Delhi on November 1-2, 1984 and burning down of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part-II.
Khokhar has challenged the High Court order dated December 17, 2018. He has claimed that he is a senior citizen, 66 years of age, and is physically handicapped with 54 per cent permanent disability in the lower limb and suffering from various ailments like diabetes, hypertension with CA, and dyslipidemia, among others.
