Delhi court reserves order against Sajjan Kumar in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

A Delhi court has reserved its judgment for January 22 in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against ex-MP Sajjan Kumar, accused of inciting violence.

A Delhi court on Monday reserved its judgment in a case linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar is accused of inciting a mob to carry out violence in Delhi’s Janakpuri and Vikaspuri.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar (HT Archive)

Kumar was brought to court amid tight security. Special Judge Dig Vijay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court reserved his judgment after hearing the final arguments. The court is set to pass the verdict on January 22.

In February 2015, a special investigation team (SIT) constituted to investigate the riots cases registered two cases against Kumar on the basis of complaints of violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri.

The FIR lodged in Janakpuri pertains to the November 1, 1984, killing of two men — Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh. The second FIR was lodged in the case of one Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set ablaze by a mob on November 2, 1984.

While a Delhi court, in August 2023, dropped charges of murder and criminal conspiracy in both the cases, it charged Kumar with the offences of rioting and promoting enmity between different communities.

During the trial, Kumar, represented by advocates Anil Kumar Sharma and Anuj Sharma, said that there was no evidence against him since he was not present at the incident sites. His counsels further argued that Kumar was belatedly named by witnesses because he was an MP.

Meanwhile, the prosecution, led by additional public prosecutor Manish Rawat, claimed that Kumar was an active participant and member of the unlawful assembly consisting of hundreds of people carrying deadly weapons with the intention to kill Sikhs and destroy their properties.

In February this year, the former parliamentarian was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of two men, Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh, during the violence in the Saraswati Vihar area.

The 1984 riots erupted in the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, and led to the killing of at least 2,800 people in the national capital alone.

Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar jail where he is also serving a life sentence handed down to him by the Delhi High Court in 2018 in connection with the killing of five Sikhs in Palam Colony during the riots.