Families to move HC after court acquits Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riots case

A group of riot victims staged a protest outside Rouse Avenue Courts, demanding accountability and renewed judicial scrutiny

Hours after a Delhi court acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case linked to Janakpuri and Vikaspuri, the families of the victims said on Thursday that they would challenge the verdict in the Delhi high court, calling it a grave miscarriage of justice.

A Delhi court acquitted on Thursday former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to inciting violence in the Janakpuri area during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. (PTI)

The case pertained to the November 1, 1984, killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri, and to a separate FIR relating to Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set ablaze by a mob in Vikaspuri on November 2, 1984.

Both families lived in the Navada area of west Delhi at the time. Sohan Singh lived with his sons Harvinder and Tejinder and daughters Jaspal and Kamaljeet, while his daughter Harjeet and son-in-law Avtar Singh were visiting the family.

The second household belonged to Nath Singh, who lived with his sons Gurcharan, Manjeet, Tejender, Trilochan and Trilochan’s wife Manjeet. According to the prosecution, a mob attacked the two families, killing Sohan Singh and Avtar Singh, while seriously injuring Nath Singh’s family members, with Gurcharan suffering the most grievous injuries after being thrown into a burning truck.

Speaking to HT from a village near Mohali, Gurcharan’s brother Manjeet said decades of legal struggle had ended in despair. “All the efforts my bedridden brother made have gone to waste. After the massacre, he remained bedridden all his life and died in 2008. He used to attend court hearings in an ambulance with another brother,” he said.

Recalling the attack, Manjeet said, “A mob broke the door of our house, entered and assaulted us. They dragged us men out and kept beating us. Then they set our shop, scooter and truck on fire and threw my brother into the burning truck. He was badly burnt.” He added that the shop belonged to their father, a property dealer.

Two years after the riots, the family shifted to a village near Mohali but continued travelling to Delhi for court hearings. “Our children were never deeply involved in the case, but we siblings were victims. Our lives changed because of the riots. The court has wronged us,” he said.

Harvinder Singh, Sohan Singh’s son and the prime witness in the case, died in 2021. His son Abhijeet, 29, said he was disappointed with the verdict but declined to comment further.

Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who represents several 1984 riot victims, said the court acquitted Kumar citing lack of credible evidence, but noted that both key witnesses — Gurcharan Singh and Harvinder Singh — had died in 2008 and 2021, respectively. “It was the accused who benefited from the delay in judicial proceedings, not the victims,” Phoolka said.

Following the verdict, a group of riot victims staged a protest outside Rouse Avenue Courts, demanding accountability and renewed judicial scrutiny.