1984 riots: Order on Sajjan Kumar plea on Dec 11

A Delhi court Monday fixed Dec 11 for issuing order on a plea of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to drop nine CBI witnesses in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against him.

Sajjan Kumar and three other accused are facing trial in the case and they have requested the court to drop the names of nine prosecution witnesses, claiming they were "irrelevant".

District Judge J.R. Aryan reserved the order for Dec 11.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier said though the charge sheet pertains to killing of six people, it was only restricting the charge relating to murder of Surjit Singh and not of other people in respect of whom the trial had already taken place.

The CBI opposed Sajjan Kumar's plea. Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, appearing for the riot victims, backed the CBI, saying the witnesses are very important in the case and if their names are removed, it will be the miscarriage of justice.

The court earlier framed various charges, including murder and rioting, against Sajjan Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta, Peru alias Peeria Sansi, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash, for killing a man in Delhi's Sultanpuri area during the riots following assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984. Accused Khushal Singh has died.