1984 anti-Sikh riots: SC dismisses interim bail plea of convict Mahender Yadav

Yadav wanted to be released on bail on the ground that he was Covid positive

 

New Delhi(Agencies):The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to ex- councillor Mahender Yadav -- a convict in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case who sought to be released on interim bail on the ground that he was COVID-19 positive.

Awarded 10-year imprisonment in an anti-Sikh riots case, Yadav (70) moved the top court seeking interim bail, contending that he was COVID-19 positive since June 26 and his health was continuously deteriorating. Former Delhi Congress leader and co-convict Sajjan Kumar is serving life term in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

A Bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee said he was receiving treatment in a hospital where no relative was allowed.

"Everything possible is being done for the treatment of the petitioner. The family has no grievance related to the treatment. There is no other specific suggestion forthcoming from the family which they wish to take. The application cannot be entertained," said the Bench which also included Justice BR Gavai.

On behalf of Yadav, senior advocate R Basant submitted that the petitioner was in ICU and even in the hospital he was under custody.

"Two constables are posted outside his ward and no relatives are allowed to visit him," he said.

"If a person is in ICU or general ward, no relative can visit. Generalisations can't be made in such cases. How can we make such a rule just for him? If allowed in this case, everyone will come.

"I don't think we can entertain this application unless there is a specific allegation regarding the treatment being meted out to him," Justice Banerjee said dismissing Yadav's plea.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj opposed Yadav's interim bail plea, saying if it was entertained, it will set a wrong precedent.

Yadav submitted that he had already served more than 17 months in prison excluding any period covered by remission and had not been given parole at all.

He said he was suffering from various ailments including diabetes, and kidney related problems.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had on May 13 refused to give interim bail to  former Delhi Congress leader Sajjan Kumar who is serving life sentence in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

It had also refused to grant parole to convicts Balwan Khokhar and Mahender Yadav. While Khokhar is serving life term, Yadav has been given 10-year imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in the case.

The Delhi High Court had on December 17, 2018 awarded life imprisonment to Kumar for the "remainder of his natural life" in a case relating the killing of five Sikhs in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar Part-I area of southwest Delhi on November 1-2 in 1984, and burning down of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar Part-II.

Almost 3,000 people were killed, most of them in Delhi, in the anti-Sikh riots that broke out following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.