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Supreme Court Stays Surrender Order in Sudershan Singh Wazir’s Murder Case Appeal

On November 11, the Supreme Court issued notice on Sikh leader Sudershan Singh Wazir's plea challenging the Delhi High Court's order staying his discharge in a murder case and directing him to surrender. The case centers on the alleged 2021 murder of former National Conference MLC Trilochan Singh Wazir, with Sudershan Singh Wazir, former President of the Jammu and Kashmir State Gurdwara Parbandhak Board, as one of the accused.


A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stayed the High Court’s directive for Wazir to surrender and suspended trial proceedings against him until further notice. Expressing surprise, Justice Oka questioned the High Court’s authority to stay a discharge order. "Staying an order of discharge is completely unheard of," he remarked. Senior Advocate Sanjay Jain, representing the Delhi government, responded that Wazir could still apply for bail, to which Justice Oka replied critically, emphasizing the procedural contradictions involved in demanding both surrender and bail.


The trial court had originally discharged Wazir and co-accused Balbir Singh, Harpreet Singh Khalsa, and Rajinder Chaudhary on October 26, 2023, while retaining charges against another accused, Harmeet Singh. However, following an appeal by the prosecution, the Delhi High Court, on November 4, stayed the discharge order. Justice Anish Dayal held that Wazir’s release, which followed the discharge, became invalid with the order’s stay and approved the prosecution’s request for Wazir to surrender.


The High Court asserted that the stay on the discharge would be “ineffective and bereft of any teeth” unless Wazir was in custody, although it permitted him to seek bail independently.


The Supreme Court has scheduled further proceedings for January 28, 2025, and included Wazir’s appeal among the first five cases on that date. The matter, listed under Sudershan Singh Wazir v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Ors. (Diary No. 51306-2024), raises significant questions about the legality of staying discharge orders in criminal proceedings.






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