Welcoming the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s decision to honour three witnesses who staged a relentless battle to ensure life imprisonment to 1984 genocide perpetrator and Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Thursday urged the Sikhs’ mini parliament to also honour all the lawyers who fought this case.
He said that the SGPC had, in its wisdom, taken a decision to honour three witnesses in the case — Bibi Jagdish Kuar, Bibi Nirpreet Kaur and Jagsher Singh initially. “I feel it would be in the fitness of things to honour both the witnesses and lawyers instead of only honouring the witnesses first. I have accordingly made a request to the SGPC president also,” he said.
Sukhbir said that the Sikh community was keen that all lawyers, who had prosecuted Sajjan Kumar as well as those who had assisted the prosecution should be honoured by the apex Sikh body.
“The Sikh community was beholden to the witnesses in the case who had borne great hardship and stuck to their stand despite threats and even registration of false cases against Bibi Nirpreet Kaur and her family. Similarly, all the lawyers, who represented the CBI as well as the complainants, did a stellar job despite destruction of important evidence to ensure exemplary punishment to Sajjan Kumar. Keeping all these factors in mind, I request the SGPC to honour all the witnesses as well as lawyers together,” he added.