Sagar Dhankar Murder Case: SC Cancels Bail of Wrestler Sushil Kumar; Orders Surrender Within a Week

The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Delhi High Court’s March 4 order granting bail to wrestler Sushil Kumar, the prime accused in the murder of junior national champion Sagar Dhankar.

The Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra allowed the plea filed by the victim’s father, Ashok Dhankad, challenging the High Court’s decision.

The Court directed Kumar to surrender within one week.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Mridul appeared for the petitioner, while Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani represented Kumar.

Kumar, along with several others, is accused of brutally assaulting Dhankar and his two friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, in the parking lot of Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4, 2021, allegedly over a property dispute. Dhankar, 23, succumbed to cerebral damage caused by blunt force trauma, while his companions sustained injuries.

The incident triggered a large-scale manhunt for the decorated wrestler, who evaded arrest for 18 days before being apprehended by Delhi Police in the city’s Mundka area. Following his arrest on May 23, 2021, Kumar was suspended from his Railways job and remained in judicial custody until the High Court granted him bail earlier this year.

However, the Supreme Court, after hearing arguments from both sides, found merit in the victim’s family’s plea and cancelled the relief.

With the Apex Court’s order, Kumar will have to return to custody while the trial continues in the murder case.

Notably, on March 4, the High Court noted that Kumar had spent more than three and a half years in custody, and had approved the bail on a bond of Rs. 50,000, along with two sureties of the same amount. Advocates R.S. Malik and Sumeet Shokeen, representing Kumar, before the High Court had argued that their client had remained in custody for over three and a half years. They had also highlighted that only 30 out of 186 prosecution witnesses had been examined in the last three years, indicating a slow pace of trial proceedings.

In July 2023, Kumar was granted interim bail of seven days, citing medical grounds. Kumar had been in judicial custody since June 2, 2021, for the alleged killing at Chhatrasal Stadium in May 2021. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sushil Kumar of Rohini District Court allowed the bail after noting that Kumar had a torn ligament near his right knee and required surgery. The Court had permitted his release from July 23 to July 30 on a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh and two sureties of the same amount.

Earlier, on October 12, 2022, ASJ Shivaji Anand had framed charges under Section 302 IPC (Murder) and other offences against Wrestler Sushil Kumar and 17 others in connection with the killing of a 27-year-old wrestler Sagar Dhankar, at Chhatrasal Stadium, in May 2021. ASJ Anand had also framed charges under IPC Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 142 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), and 149 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon) (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object).

The Trial Court had framed charges against the accused persons namely, Kumar, Prince, Ajay Kumar, Mohit, Manjeet, Gulab, Bhupender, Rohit Malik, Bijender, Anirudh Dahiya, Subhash, Gaurav Loura, Surjeet Grewal, Anil Dhiman, Praveen Dabas, Praveen, Rahul, and Parveen Dabas under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 34 (common intention). Additionally, the court framed attempted murder charges for injuries inflicted on other victims.

Case Title: Ashok Dhankad v. State NCT of Delhi and Anr.

Pronouncement Date: August 13, 2025

Bench: Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra

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