The Delhi high court has refused to grant bail to Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar in the alleged murder of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar.Justice Purushaindra Kumar dismissed Kumar’s bail plea on August 6, citing concerns about his ability to influence witnesses, his conduct before his arrest, the seriousness of the alleged offence and his ability to affect the outcome of the ongoing trial.The judge noted that while bail is generally the rule and jail the exception, the case involved a “premeditated and gruesome assault resulting in death”. The court said this was supported by the recovery of a firearm, video evidence and other material that is yet to be examined during the trial.Kumar’s counsel sought bail on the ground that circumstances had changed since his earlier bail was cancelled. The lawyer pointed out that Ashok Dhankad, Sagar’s father whose complaint had led to the earlier cancellation of bail, had not supported the prosecution’s case during the trial.The defence also argued that Kumar had already spent more than five years in custody and that only formal and official witnesses remained to be examined.Delhi Police and Dhankar’s father opposed the bail plea.The high court, however, said the defence’s claim that Sagar’s father had not supported the prosecution was disputed. It also referred to the Supreme Court’s earlier decision cancelling Kumar’s bail, in which it had noted his social standing and influence and the fact that witnesses had turned hostile whenever he was given temporary liberty.“Whether the deposition of Ashok Dhankad (deceased’s father) does or does not support the prosecution is, moreover, a matter of appreciation of evidence that must await the outcome by the trial court. It cannot be treated as a change in circumstances sufficient to unlock the door that the Supreme Court closed,” the court said.“In these circumstances, this court is not persuaded that the petitioner has made out a case either for a genuine change in circumstances within the meaning of the liberty reserved by the Supreme Court, or, independently, for the grant of regular bail,” it concluded.Kumar was arrested in May 2021. A sessions court later granted him one week’s interim bail for knee surgery on July 19, 2023.The Supreme Court cancelled his bail on August 13, 2025, setting aside a Delhi high court order. It said Kumar’s “domineering influence” over witnesses and the possibility of delaying the trial proceedings could not be ruled out.The High Court had granted Kumar bail on March 4, 2025. Earlier, on February 6, a trial court had rejected his bail plea, saying the possibility that he could influence witnesses “cannot be ruled out”.In October 2022, the trial court framed charges against Kumar under Indian Penal Code provisions relating to murder, criminal conspiracy, intimidation and rioting with a deadly weapon. Charges were also framed under the Arms Act.The trial court had said Dhankar was abducted and taken to the stadium, where he was severely assaulted by several accused persons using baseball and hockey sticks.
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