New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on a bail plea filed by Olympian wrestler Sushil Kumar in the 2021 murder case of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar and sought a detailed status report from the Delhi Police.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani directed the investigating agency to file a comprehensive status report along with the nominal roll of the accused from jail authorities.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 4.

Sushil Kumar has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the February 6 order of a Rohini court rejecting his second regular bail application.

During the hearing, counsel appearing for Sushil Kumar submitted that his bail had earlier been cancelled by the Supreme Court on a plea filed by the father of the deceased, primarily on the apprehension that public witnesses were yet to be examined and could be influenced.

It was argued on Kumar’s behalf that since the public witnesses have been examined, he could be released on bail.

Opposing the plea, the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) appearing for the Delhi Police contended that examination of witnesses is still incomplete and sought time to place a detailed status report on record.

Counsel appearing for the deceased’s father also opposed the grant of bail to the wrestler.

Sushil Kumar, along with others, is accused of assaulting former junior national wrestling champion Dhankar, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, and his two friends, in the parking lot of Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4, 2021, in connection with an alleged property dispute.

Dhankar later succumbed to injuries sustained in the incident. Earlier, in August 2025, the Supreme Court had cancelled the bail granted to Kumar by the Delhi High Court and directed him to surrender within a week while allowing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Dhankar’s father challenging the grant of bail.

Kumar has remained in custody since June 2, 2021, except for the period during which he was released on bail pursuant to the Delhi High Court’s order, which was subsequently set aside by the apex court.

However, he was granted interim bail on earlier occasions to perform the last rites of his father and to undergo surgery for a torn ligament.

–IANS

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