Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar gets Second Life-Term for his Anti-Sikh pogrom in 1984
Kumar is currently in Tihar jail serving his first life-term
A Delhi court today sentenced former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for his role in the brutal murder of a father-son duo during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, marking his second life-term conviction related to the violent pogrom. The Rouse Avenue Court, presided over by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, delivered the verdict in a case tied to the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in the Saraswati Vihar area on November 1, 1984, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Kumar, 79, was convicted earlier this month on February 12 for instigating and leading a mob that doused the victims with petrol and burned them alive, while also assaulting Jaswant Singh’s wife and niece who attempted to intervene. The court’s decision today came after hearing arguments on sentencing, with the prosecution and victims pushing for the death penalty, labeling the case a “rarest of the rare” crime against humanity. The Delhi Police argued that the massacre’s scale and brutality surpassed even the infamous Nirbhaya case, targeting an entire community rather than an individual. However, the court opted for life imprisonment, directing Kumar to serve the sentence in Tihar Jail, where he is already incarcerated for a previous conviction.
Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar Jail serving a life sentence (first) handed down by the Delhi High Court in 2018 in a case related to the killing of five Sikhs at Raj Nagar Part I in Palam Colony on November 1-2, 1984, and the burning down of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part II.
Today’s sentencing intensifies the legal reckoning for Kumar, a once-prominent Congress leader and three-time Lok Sabha MP from Outer Delhi, who resigned from the party after his first conviction.
The verdict elicited mixed reactions. Sikh community members protested outside the courthouse, demanding capital punishment. Gurlad Singh, a Sikh leader, expressed dissatisfaction, stating, “We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We’ll appeal to the government to take this to a higher court.” Conversely, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa praised the outcome, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for reopening long-dormant cases through a Special Investigation Team (SIT). “For 35 years, people like Sajjan Kumar evaded justice. This is a step toward closure for the Sikh community,” Sirsa said.
Kumar’s legal battles are far from over. He faces pending trials in other riot-related cases, including incidents in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri, and has appeals against his convictions lodged in higher courts. The 1984 riots, triggered by Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards, claimed over 3,000 lives, with allegations of political patronage shielding perpetrators for decades. Today’s ruling underscores a renewed push for accountability, though it leaves lingering questions about justice fully served for one of India’s darkest chapters.
