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Synopsis

The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, on Wednesday (February 12, 2025), convicted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar for the murder of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar. This marks Kumar’s second conviction in relation to the riots, with two more cases still pending against him.

According to the complainant, filed by Jaswant Singh’s wife, on November 1, 1984, a mob attacked their house, killing her husband and son, injuring her and others, and destroying their property. She later identified Kumar in a magazine photograph as the person instigating the mob.

The court, presided over by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, noted: “The Complainant who witnessed the brutal killing of her husband and son can certainly not be expected to forget the face of the person who was instigating the mob to carry out the said killings and lootings and her deposition in court fortifies her stand that it is Accused who was not only present during the alleged incident but also instigating and leading the mob which resulted in commission of the aforesaid offences.”

Finding the testimony of the complainant “truthful, reliable and worthy of credit”, the court stated that there was no reason to disbelieve her. “The presence and the role of Accused in leading the mob which committed the alleged offences on 01.11.1984 has been duly proved on record beyond doubt,” ruled the court.

The court will hear arguments on quantum of sentence on February 18. Kumar could face the maximum punishment of death penalty and a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2015 to investigate riot-related cases, recorded the complainant’s statement, in which she reiterated her allegations. Investigations revealed that a violent mob, armed with iron rods and lathis, attacked the victims’ home, looted valuables, and set the house on fire. Kumar was accused of leading the mob and being part of an unlawful assembly engaged in rioting, dacoity, murder, attempted murder, and destruction of property.

The court found sufficient material to form a prima facie opinion that Kumar not only participated in the attack but also led the mob. Kumar was charged in 2021 for offences under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 308, 323, 395, 397, 427, 436, and 440 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, charges under Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC were dropped.

The court ruled: “From the evidence on record, it has further been established that the said unlawful assembly or mob comprising of thousands of persons armed with deadly weapons like ‘lathis’, ‘sarias’ etc. resorted to looting, burning and destruction of property and the mob in furtherance of said common object attacked the house of the Complainant PW-13, looted the household articles and destroyed her house by setting it on fire.”

Notably, Kumar was previously convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in 2018 for the killings of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar Part-I, Palam Colony, and the burning of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar Part-II. His appeal against this conviction is pending before the Supreme Court.

Additionally, two appeals challenging his acquittal in separate riot cases by trial courts are pending before the Delhi High Court. In trial courts, Kumar faces two ongoing cases, including one related to violence near a Gurdwara in Gulab Bagh, Nawada, for which he was put on trial in August 2023. Another case pertains to riots in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri.

According to the Nanavati Commission report, 587 FIRs were registered in Delhi in connection with the 1984 riots, which resulted in the deaths of 2,733 people. Of these, 240 FIRs were closed as "untraced," while 250 cases ended in acquittals. Out of 587 cases, only 28 resulted in convictions, leading to the conviction of around 400 individuals. About 50 people, including Kumar, were convicted of murder. Currently, approximately 20 riot-related cases remain pending before various courts in Delhi.

 

[With inputs from PTI]