The Supreme Court Today (March 15th) sought a response from the CBI on a plea for furlough (granting leave of absence for a specified period of time to a convict from prison) by former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, serving life imprisonment in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today called for a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding a petition for furlough (granting leave of absence for a specified period of time to a convict from prison) submitted by Balwan Khokhar, a former Congress councillor, who is currently serving a life sentence in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
During the proceedings, the bench, comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, indicated that it might direct the relevant authority to resolve the issue.
The legal representative for Khokhar asserted that the request for furlough was made with the aim of “maintaining social ties.” Following this, the court scheduled the next hearing for this case to take place in April.
The context of Khokhar’s imprisonment is deeply intertwined with a tragic chapter in India’s history. Alongside Khokhar, Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress MP, is also serving a life sentence related to the same incident. Furthermore, Mahender Yadav, a former MLA who had received a decade-long sentence, passed away due to Covid in Mandoli jail.
Both Sajjan Kumar and Balwan Khokhar have been detained in Tihar jail since December 17, 2018, following their conviction.
The Delhi High Court, in a significant ruling in 2018, confirmed Khokhar’s life sentence and also reversed the acquittal of Kumar by the lower court in 2013.
The case centers around the harrowing events of November 1-2, 1984, where five Sikhs were brutally killed in Raj Nagar Part-I of Palam Colony in southwest Delhi, and a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part-II was set ablaze.
These incidents were part of the wider anti-Sikh riots that erupted following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. The riots marked one of the most catastrophic periods of communal violence in the country’s post-independence history.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
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