- Top Court asked AIIMS to examine ex-Congress leader and submit a report
- Sajjan Kumar, sentenced for life in anti-Sikh riots case, now in Tihar
- Top court to hear his appeal against conviction in 2020 summer vacation
Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, sentenced for life for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, should be examined by a panel of doctors from Delhi's AIIMS, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday, seeking a report from the premier heath institute in four weeks.
Today, during a hearing of the politician's request for bail, his lawyer said he has been in Delhi Tihar Jail for the past 11 months and has lost around 8 to 10 kg of weight. "Losing weight is not an ailment. We can get him examined by AIIMS. We will take care of his health," a bench headed by Chief Justice designate SA Bobde said.
The top court directed the listing of his bail and his appeal in summer vacation next year.
Sajjan Kumar, 73, who is lodged in jail, had resigned from the Congress after he was convicted by the Delhi High Court in December last year. He was convicted in the killing of five members of a family in Delhi Cantonment area's Raj Nagar and the torching of a gurdwara on November 1, 1984. Calling the anti-Sikh riots a "genocide", the high court had cancelled an earlier court order acquitting him of charges and sentenced him to jail "for the remainder of his natural life".
At least 3,000 people were killed when mobs led by Congress leaders targeted Sikhs after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
On August 5, the top court had said it would hear Kumar's bail plea in May 2020 as it was not an "ordinary case" and required detailed hearing before any order is passed.
Earlier, Sajjan Kumar had approached the top court challenging the conviction and life imprisonment. He had also sought bail during the pendency of his appeal in the court.
Kumar had surrendered before a trial court in Delhi on December 31 last year and was sent to Tihar Jail, Asia's largest prison.