Days after its counsel was pulled up by the Delhi High Court for “not doing your homework properly”, the CBI has appointed a senior counsel to represent it in the appeal against the acquittal of Congress MP Sajjan Kumar and seven others for the alleged murder of a Sikh youth during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

“I received a call from the CBI the day before yesterday asking me to represent it in the appeal and yesterday some officials came home to discuss the case with me... It is true, I am the counsel for CBI now,” senior advocate S S Gandhi confirmed to the Indian Express today.

Asked if J S Wadia, who was facing allegations that he was “too junior to represent the CBI in such a case of serious impact” (as reported by The Indian Express last week), would continue to play a role in the appeal hearings, Gandhi said that Wadia would be “assisting” him. Gandhi, who had represented the Delhi Police and the government before the Nanavati Commission inquiring into the re-opening of certain 1984 riot cases by the CBI, said he had accepted “the CBI brief as there was no conflict of interest”.

“This particular case, which is on appeal now, did not come before the Commission. Hence, I decided to accept the brief as there was no conflict of interest then and now,” Gandhi said.

The senior counsel, who appeared in today’s hearing of the appeal, has sought time from the court to study the case. The matter has been posted to March 28 for further hearing.

... contd.