The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on the bail application filed by Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar in the Chhatrasal Stadium assault and murder case.
A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta issued the notice and fixed the matter for hearing on March 28.
Kumar and his associates allegedly attacked Wrestler Sagar Dhankar over a property dispute in May last year, which led to Dhankar’s death.
Kumar and others were booked under Sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, among other charges. He was arrested on May 23 last year and has since been in custody.
In his plea before the High Court, Kumar stated that the first information report (FIR) registered against him was based on assumptions, presumptions and mala fide intentions. This was apparent from the fact that there was a delay in registration of FIR, he claimed.
The petition stated that despite the fact that the charge sheet reported four injured and 15 eyewitnesses to the alleged incident, the FIR was registered on the DD entry after an inordinate delay of 16 hours.
Kumar alleged that in order to make a false case against him, the statement of witnesses and victims were deliberately withheld. Further, it was claimed that the statements of the injured were marred by improvements and contradictions.
The delay in recording statements of witnesses led to the conclusion that the prosecution story was conceived and constructed after a good deal of “deliberation and delay in a shady setting, highly redolent of doubt and suspicion,” he alleged.
In October 2021, a Delhi Court rejected Kumar’s bail. Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand “accepted” the submission of the public prosecutor with regards to Kumar being a renowned wrestler, who had won laurels for himself. However, the judge held that when someone like him allegedly committed a heinous offence, the detrimental effect on the society was enormous.