Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Olympian Wrestler Sushil Kumar In Sagar Dhankar Murder Case

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the plea filed by Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar seeking bail in relation to the case of murder of 27-year-old former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar in May 2021.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said that there was no genuine change in circumstances within the meaning of the liberty reserved by the Supreme Court, or, independently, for the grant of regular bail.

Kumar was arrested in May 2021 in relation to the case of murder of Dhankar at the Chhatrasal stadium in Delhi.

For context, In March last year, the Delhi High Court had granted regular bail to Kumar. However, the said order was set aside by the Supreme Court.

While ordering the surrender of Sushil Kumar before the trial court, the Top Court had reserved his liberty to file fresh application for bail on the ground of change of circumstances.

Denying regular bail to him again, the High Court said that what was material for bail was that the specific concerns articulated by the Supreme Court- Kumar's conduct prior to arrest, the gravity of the offence and his capacity to influence the outcome of the trial given his standing. The Court said that such factors were not shown to have altered in any material particular.

The Court was hearing Kumar's plea for regular bail in the FIR registered at Model Town Police Station, Crime Branch.

The prosecution case was that several persons were allegedly abducted from Shalimar Bagh and Model Town and brought to the stadium, where they were assaulted with lathis, dandas and hockey sticks, with some accused allegedly carrying firearms. Sagar Dhankad subsequently succumbed to his injuries, following which Section 302 of IPC was added to the case.

Charges were framed against 23 accused persons. The trial is presently at the stage of prosecution evidence, with 222 prosecution witnesses cited. As per the Trial Court's latest report, 48 witnesses have been examined so far.

Kumar argued that the circumstance which had earlier concerned the Supreme Court being the possibility of influencing material public witnesses no longer survived.

It was submitted that injured and public witnesses had been examined and had not supported the prosecution case or attributed any specific role to him.

He also placed reliance on the testimony of Ashok Dhankad, the deceased's father and complainant, who, according to Kumar, had not supported the prosecution.

Dismissing the regular bail plea, Justice Kaurav said that the foundation on which the Supreme Court proceeded was not merely that particular witnesses were yet to be examined;l but it was a broader finding that Kumar, a person of considerable societal standing and influence, had on each occasion he was afforded temporary liberty, was followed by witnesses turning hostile upon deposition.

The judge added that whether the deposition of Ashok Dhankad does or does not support the prosecution was a matter of appreciation of evidence that must await the outcome by the Trial Court.

As per the Court, the same cannot be treated as a change in circumstances sufficient to unlock the door that the Supreme Court closed.

“The application is, accordingly, dismissed. It is clarified that the observations made herein are confined to the disposal of the present application and shall not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case, which shall be decided by the Trial Court on the basis of the evidence lead before it,” it added.

Title: SUSHIL KUMAR v. THE STATE GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

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