The Rouse Avenue court in Delhi, on Tuesday, awarded life imprisonment to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. He was convicted in the case related to the killing of a father-son duo in the Saraswati Vihar area of the national capital on November 1, 1984.
The court, on February 12 this year, found the accused politician guilty under sections related to rioting, unlawful assembly, and murder.
The case pertains to the brutal murder of Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, during the widespread violence that erupted following the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
The complainant in the case, who lost her husband and son in the mob attack allegedly incited by Kumar, had sought death penalty to Sajjan Kumar citing the heinous nature of the crime.
Reacting to the verdict, Sikh leader Gurlad Singh expressed his disappointment with the sentence. He said, “We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We are not happy with the court’s decision and will urge the government to appeal for a harsher punishment.”
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) General Secretary Jagdip Singh Kahlon, while acknowledging that justice has eventually prevailed in the case, expressed his disappointment over the sentence. “We are upset that someone like Sajjan Kumar was not given the death penalty. I believe if he had been given a death sentence, it would have been better, and we would have felt satisfied… After 41 years, even if he got life imprisonment, justice has prevailed. I respect the verdict of the court”
During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Kumar played a key role in instigating the violence leading to the looting and destruction of Sikh homes and businesses in retaliation for Mrs Gandhi’s assassination. The mob, armed with weapons, stormed the complainant’s residence, killing her family members and setting their property ablaze.
The large-scale anti-Sikh riots of 1984 that resulted in the death of thousands were investigated by the Nanavati Commission. The commission reported that 2,733 people were killed in Delhi alone, with 587 FIRs registered.
However, a significant number of cases, 240 to be precise, were closed as “untraced” while 250 ended in acquittals. Only 28 cases resulted in convictions leading to sentencing of around 400 individuals, including 50 for murder.
Kumar is currently serving a life sentence in another case related to the killings of five people in Delhi’s Palam Colony on November 1, 1984.