Apex court sets aside Delhi High Court order staying discharge of J-K Sikh leader in murder case

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court order staying the discharge of Sudershan Singh Wazir – a prominent Sikh leader from Jammu and Kashmir -- in a murder case, saying high courts should not ordinarily stay the discharge orders passed by trial courts.

“It is only in rare and exceptional cases where the order of discharge is ex-facie perverse that the revisional court (high court) can take the extreme step of staying that order. However, such an order should be passed only after giving an opportunity of being heard to the accused. Moreover, while granting the stay, the court must mould the relief so that the trial does not proceed against the discharged accused,” a Bench led by Justice AS Oka said.

“If the trial against a discharged accused proceeds, even before the revision application against an order of discharge is decided, the final outcome of the revision will become fait accompli,” it said.

Quashing the high court’s orders dated October 21, 2023 and November 4, 2024, the top court asked the high court to decide the prosecution’s revision application without being influenced by any observations made in this judgment.

“It will be open for the first respondent, NCT of Delhi, and the fifth respondent to apply before the High Court for giving necessary priority to the disposal of the revision application,” it added.

Sudershan Singh Wazir was arrested by Delhi Police in February 2023 in connection with the murder of former National Conference leader and former chairman of the J&K Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee Trilochan Singh Wazir in September 2021.

Accused Sudershan Singh Wazir and two others were discharged by the trial court on October 20, 2023 while murder charges were framed against accused Harmeet Singh. However, the Delhi High Court had asked him to surrender, noting that he cannot avail the benefit of the discharge order.

Shocked over the Delhi High Court's order staying a trial court’s order discharging Wazir in the case, the Supreme Court had in November last year directed that the trial proceedings against him would not proceed until further order.

"How can an order of discharge be stayed? It is completely unheard of. Absolute shocking affairs! If the court will start staying the order of discharge, then trial will proceed. How can this happen? We will have to lay down the law in view of the manner in which power is exercised by the High Court," the Bench had said, staying the high court’s order requiring Wazir – who was the Jammu and Kashmir Sikh United Front Chairman -- to surrender. It had also stayed the trial proceedings against him.

“In the peculiar circumstances of this case, when the state was admittedly, not aware, that before the revision application was listed before this court, respondent No. 4 had already been given bail, the state could not be precluded from filing the Section 390 of the CrPC application subsequently. First, the provision itself does not provide any limitation to such a plea being made; second, the essence of Section 390 CrPC power is the exercise of discretion by the High Court to commit an accused back to prison,” the high court had said.