Supreme Court cancels bail of Olympian wrestler Sushil Kumar
What's the story
The Supreme Court has canceled the bail of Olympian wrestler Sushil Kumar in the murder case of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar. The court directed him to surrender within a week. The decision was taken by a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra, which heard an appeal filed by Ashok Dhankad, father of the victim Sagar.
Bail history
Delhi High Court granted bail to Kumar in March 2023
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had granted bail to Kumar in March 2023. The court had noted that only 30 out of 186 prosecution witnesses had been examined in the three years since the trial began. However, Dhankad challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, alleging witness intimidation and citing an incident where Kumar allegedly threatened a key witness during his interim release.
Case background
Kumar was arrested in May 2021
Kumar was arrested in May 2021 for his alleged role in the murder of Sagar at Delhi's Chhatrasal Stadium. The incident took place on May 4, 2021, when Kumar and others allegedly assaulted Dhankar and his friends Sonu and Amit Kumar in the parking lot of the stadium. Dhankar succumbed to injuries from the attack. His post-mortem report revealed he died due to cerebral damage from blunt force trauma.
Bail history
Kumar granted bail multiple times
Kumar has been granted interim bail multiple times. In March 2023, the Rohini Court granted him four days of bail on humanitarian grounds to perform his father's last rites. The court allowed his release from March 6-9, 2023, on a ₹1 lakh bond with two sureties. He was out on bail from July 23-30, 2023, for a knee operation, and later surrendered in August 2023 at Delhi's Tihar Jail.