Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, convicted in 1984 anti-sikh riots case, dies
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Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, convicted in 1984 anti-sikh riots case, dies
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, convicted for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at 80 after being brought from Tihar Jail to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. He was serving a life sentence for the killing of five people in Palam Colony during the 1984 riots.
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted for his role in the 1984 Sikh riots, died on Thursday (Aug 20). The 80-year-old politician was declared dead when brought to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital from Tihar Jail. Kumar was serving life imprisonment in Tihar jail. The Delhi High Court had convicted the Congress leader guilty of having caused the death of five people during an incident of rioting in the Palam Colony area on November 1 and 2, 1984, post the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018. Post his sentence, Kumar has appealed challenging the punishment in the Supreme Court. Additionally, in January this year, a Delhi court had acquitted Sajjan Kumar in two cases related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas in the national capital during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
For over three decades, Kumar faced multiple criminal cases relating to the violence, with outcomes that swung between acquittals and convictions across different courts. In the Delhi's Raj Nagar area case, relating to the killing of five members of a family and the torching of a gurudwara, the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018, overturned a trial court's earlier acquittal and convicted Kumar, sentencing him to life imprisonment. Kumar surrendered and has been in jail since December 2018.
In the Saraswati Vihar murder case, concerning the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984, a trial court had earlier acquitted Kumar, but on February 25, 2025, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja awarded him a second life imprisonment term, sparing him the death penalty in view of his old age, ailments and conduct while serving his previous life sentence. In the case relating to violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas, a Rouse Avenue Court acquitted Kumar on January 22 of charges of inciting the killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, and the burning of Gurcharan Singh.
On May 26, the Delhi High Court issued notice on the appeal against the acquittal of Former MP Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 Anti Sikh riots case. Kumar had repeatedly sought bail and relief on medical grounds during his jail period. Throughout his life, Kumar remained one of the most prominent former public representatives held criminally responsible for the state-wide violence following four decades of prolonged judicial inquiry.
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