A Delhi court sought a response from the CBI for transferring the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases involving Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to some other court in the city.
District Judge G.P. Mittal asked the investigating agency to respond to the plea of a co-accused of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, raising objections to the trial court which is hearing the case and asked it to file its reply by April 1.
The trial court had on March 27 rejected the plea of transferring the case and sent the case files to the district judge to seek proper allocation for the hearing.
“The grounds taken in the application that the present court is not competent to try the case is without any force, as every Additional Sessions Judge is competent to try every sessions trial pertaining to an entire area in the territorial jurisdiction of Delhi,” special CBI judge P.S. Teji had said.
The court, however, had sent the files relating to the two cases to the District Judge, Tis Hazari court, for the proper allocation of the matter.
Disallowing the plea of Khushal Singh, the court said “the argument advanced that the court does not have jurisdiction is without any basis and not acceptable.”
“It is further pertinent to mention that the court is fully competent to try the present sessions,” it had said.
Singh pleaded before the Karkardooma court to transfer the matters to other judge having territorial jurisdiction to try them.
He argued it did not have jurisdiction to try the cases as the offences were alleged to have been committed at Sultanpuri and Delhi Cantonment area.
He further said that Delhi has been divided into nine judicial districts and the matter should be heard by a court either at Rohini or at Tees Hazari district courts.
The CBI had filed two chargesheets on January 13 in the riots cases registered on the recommendation of Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission which had inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.