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New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the alleged instigation of violence during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a verdict likely to be viewed as a setback for survivors and families who have pursued justice for more than four decades.
Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh delivered a brief oral order clearing Kumar of charges pertaining to rioting and promoting communal violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas of West Delhi. The court said a detailed, reasoned judgment would be issued later. A copy of the order is awaited.
The case stemmed from allegations that Kumar had incited mobs during the widespread violence that erupted after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in November 1984. The prosecution had claimed that his alleged instigation led to targeted attacks against members of the Sikh community in parts of West Delhi.
In August 2023, the trial court had framed charges against Kumar for offences including rioting and promoting enmity between communities. However, he had been discharged of the more serious charges of murder and criminal conspiracy in the same proceedings.
The prosecution was based on two first information reports registered by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in February 2015. One FIR related to the killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri on November 1, 1984. The second FIR pertained to the death of Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set on fire in Vikaspuri on November 2, 1984.
The acquittal triggered anguish among survivors and relatives of the victims, many of whom have repeatedly expressed frustration over delays and setbacks in the prosecution of riot-related cases.
Despite Thursday’s acquittal, Kumar will remain behind bars. He is currently serving a life sentence awarded by a trial court on February 25 last year in a separate 1984 riots case involving the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar area on November 1, 1984. That conviction remains in force, underscoring that while Kumar has been cleared in this particular case, he continues to stand convicted for his role in other riot-related violence.
