The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of former Congress leader and 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar saying his medical condition is stable. The SC additionally remarked that the senior Congress leader cannot be treated like a “VIP patient” and be allowed to be treated in a hospital of his choice.
Kumar who is serving a life sentence for instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre had filed an interim bail citing poor health condition despite receiving the required medical attention. The former Congress leader had reportedly collapsed in jail following which he was undergoing treatment in the Emergency ICU at Safdarjung Hospital.
“You are feeling as if he is the only patient to be treated in the country. He is accused of a series of heinous crimes and you want him to be treated as a super VIP patient. That we won’t permit,” observed a bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul.
The order came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a response saying Kumar’s medical condition was stable and that he had been showing signs of improvement.
The Court, however, said that if the medical authorities find it necessary to shift the accused to Medanta for further treatment, they might do so.
Representing Kumar, senior advocate Vikas Singh had submitted a plea seeking permission to shift the Congress leader to a private hospital for better treatment.
In the previous hearing, the Bench had said, “We want somebody from the state to verify it. We want the state to verify what the medical condition is.”
This is not the first time the Congress leader sought bail on medical grounds after being convicted. The Court had rejected his bail plea last year too.
Convicted in 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Sajjan Kumar was one of the many Congress leaders involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre that happened after the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi in 1984. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018.
He was found responsible for the murder of 5 Sikhs (Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh, and Kuldeep Singh in the Delhi Cantonment area.
Kumar was charged under Section 302 IPC (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), Section 153A IPC (communal hatred speech) and other relevant sections of the IPC.
