#JUSTIN: Delhi Court Acquits Sajjan Kumar in 1984 Riots Cases
Former Congress MP cleared in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri violence incidents.
A Delhi court has acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in two cases linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, involving alleged incitement of violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas of the national capital. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh delivered a brief oral order on Thursday acquitting the 78-year-old leader, with a detailed reasoned judgment expected soon. The prosecution failed to prove Kumar’s involvement beyond reasonable doubt, as witnesses provided mostly hearsay evidence and did not name him promptly.
These cases stemmed from FIRs registered in February 2015 by a special investigation team, based on complaints related to the riots that followed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. One FIR concerned the killings of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri on November 1, 1984, while the other involved Gurcharan Singh being set ablaze in Vikaspuri on November 2. In August 2023, Kumar was charged with rioting and promoting enmity but discharged from murder and criminal conspiracy charges.
Kumar remains in jail, serving life imprisonment from separate convictions tied to the same riots. In December 2018, the Delhi High Court sentenced him to life for the deaths of five people in Palam Colony, a verdict upheld despite his ongoing Supreme Court appeal. Additionally, a trial court awarded him life imprisonment in February 2025 for the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Saraswati Vihar, describing it as part of a continuous chain of events but not warranting the death penalty.
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The 1984 anti-Sikh riots resulted in widespread violence across Delhi, with official figures citing 2,733 deaths. According to the Nanavati Commission report, only a small fraction of the 587 FIRs led to convictions, highlighting persistent challenges in delivering justice for the victims after more than four decades.
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