New Delhi:
A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to a co-accused of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and issued a notice to CBI to file its reply on their application seeking certain documents relating to 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases against them.
Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta allowed the bail plea of Girdhari Lal, who was in judicial custody after being arrested by CBI on February 23.
The court also directed him to furnish a personal and surety bond of Rs 50,000 each.
It granted the plea of the accused on the ground of parity as all other remaining accused had already been granted anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court.
During the arguments, Lal's counsel said he was not named by the Delhi police, which had investigated the case earlier.
The CBI, on the other hand, contended the matter was probed afresh after registering of the case by it in 2005 and he was not named by witnesses as they were scared.
The counsel for CBI also pointed out that his similar plea was earlier dismissed by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
ASJ Gupta was holding the proceedings in the matter at Karkardooma courts for first time after the two cases were transferred to her court from a special CBI court on the direction of the District and Sessions Judge on April 1.
Meanwhile, the court asked CBI to file its reply on April 7 on the application of Kumar and his co-accused seeking records relating to the two cases of the riots that had taken place following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
The documents included judicial as well as police records of certain cases registered at police station Sultanpuri and Delhi Cantt and a copy of the memorandum of action taken on the report of Justice G T Nanavati Commission of Inquiry which was set up to inquire into riots of 1984.
Opposing the arguments of the accused, CBI counsel Y K Saxena submitted their similar plea had been dismissed earlier by the court.
Senior counsel H S Phoolka, who appeared on behalf of the victims, told the court that the trial court has to conclude the proceedings in the cases within six months.
CBI had filed two chargesheets on January 13 against Kumar and others 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.