Delhi court to sentence Sajjan Kumar on Feb 25 in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
The court convicted the former Congress leader of inciting a mob that killed Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep in Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984
A Delhi court is set to pronounce the quantum of sentence against former Congress parliamentarian Sajjan Kumar on February 25 following his conviction in the murder of a father and his son in Saraswati Vihar, Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Special judge Kaweri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court on Friday directed Kumar’s legal team to file written submissions within two days and scheduled the sentencing date. Kumar, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, attended the proceedings via video conference. Kumar is already serving a life sentence following his 2018 conviction by the Delhi high court in a separate case related to the anti-Sikh riots.
The court has also sought a psychiatric and psychological evaluation report from Tihar jail authorities, citing a Supreme Court ruling that mandates such an assessment before considering the punishment of death penalty.
Earlier this week, the prosecution filed written submissions demanding the death penalty, arguing that Kumar’s role in the riots amounted to genocide and ethnic cleansing. Additional public prosecutor Manish Rawat emphasised that Kumar’s prior conviction in a similar case underscores the need for capital punishment, as life imprisonment would be insufficient for the gravity of his crimes against humanity.
On February 12, after nearly four decades of legal proceedings, the court convicted Kumar of inciting a mob that killed Jaswant Singh, 50, and his son Tarundeep Singh, 18, in Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984. The court found that Kumar played a direct role in mobilising and instigating the attack, which resulted in the deaths and destruction of the victims’ home.
The judgment highlighted systemic failures that allowed Kumar to evade justice for decades. It specifically criticised the Delhi Police for accepting an “untrace report” in 1994, which effectively closed the case without informing the complainant, Jaswant Singh’s wife.
The 1984 riots erupted in the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, and led to the killing of at least 2,800 people in the national capital alone.
The prosecution, in its submissions on February 18, underlined the necessity for the death penalty, citing the Supreme Court judgments in Bachan Singh Vs State of Punjab (1983) and Machhi Singh Vs State of Punjab (1983), which establish guidelines for imposing capital punishment in cases classified as the “rarest of rare”.
The prosecution’s submissions framed Kumar’s crimes as meeting the definition of genocide under the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). They detailed the brutality of the murders, describing how the victims were burned alive while Singh’s wife, daughter, and niece suffered severe injuries. The submission noted that even after nearly 40 years, survivors continue to endure trauma from the attack.
The prosecution also pointed to Kumar’s abuse of his political influence to delay legal proceedings. Despite overwhelming evidence, formal charges were only brought against him in 2016 after a special investigation team (SIT) was established to re-examine the riot cases.
During arguments scheduled for February 21, Kumar’s defence team is expected to counter the prosecution’s demands. The defence has previously questioned the reliability of witness testimonies, particularly that of Jaswant Singh’s wife, who identified Kumar after seeing his photograph in a magazine. However, the court rejected the defence’s contention, recognising the lasting psychological impact of the events on the witness’s memory.
The prosecution compared Kumar’s case to the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case, in which the convicts were sentenced to death, arguing that while Nirbhaya was a single victim, Kumar’s actions targeted an entire community, resulting in mass killings and forced displacement.
Kumar, now 79, is already serving a life sentence for the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the 1984 riots. The court will consider all arguments before delivering its final verdict on his sentencing on February 25.