AGENCIES / NEW DELHI
The Delhi High Court today convicted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for conspiracy to commit murder in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and sentenced him to imprisonment for life.
A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel convicted Kumar for criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity and acts against communal harmony. The high court said Kumar’s life imprisonment will be for the remainder of his life and asked him to surrender by December 31. It also asked him not to leave Delhi before that.
The conviction of five others — former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, retired naval officer Captain Bhagmal, Girdhari Lal, former MLAs Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokhar– were also upheld by the high court.
The high court was hearing the appeals filed by the CBI, riots victims and the convicts, challenging a trial court’s judgement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which Kumar was acquitted.
The riots broke out after the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
Political leaders have welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict awarding life sentence to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. Senior BJP leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley alleged that the Congress governments in the past repeatedly indulged in cover-up exercises to protect its leaders involved in the riots.
Union Minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said culprits of 1984 Sikh riots must be punished. Reacting to the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar by the Delhi High Court, Mr Naqvi said, people involved in the conspiracy during the Sikh riots must be brought to book. Mr Naqvi told media outside Parliament that Sikhs had suffered a lot during the riots.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, he said the cover-ups are now being defeated. He added the legacy of the riots hangs around the Congress and Gandhi family.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra demanded that other Congress leaders involved in the crime be prosecuted. He also demanded that Congress remove Kamal Nath from the Chief Ministership of Madhya Pradesh for his alleged role in the riots.
Speaking to media persons outside Parliament, Mr Chandumajra said it was NDA which pushed for reopening the riots cases while Congress tried to deny justice to victims.
Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said politics should not be played on Sajjan Kumar’s conviction. Talking to media, outside Parliament, he said that Delhi High Court has pronounced its verdict and it should not be politicized.
Mr Kabil said, Mr Kumar, neither held any position in the party nor was he given a ticket to contest the election. He suggested that BJP should not drag Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-elect Kamal Nath’s name in the anti-Sikh riots as it will have to do a lot of answering for its leaders allegedly involved in 2002 Gujarat riots.
Another Congress leader Sunil Jakhar said the law has taken its own course while convicting Sajjan Kumar. He said the court’s verdict will strengthen people’s trust in the law. He added those involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should be given strictest punishment.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today said the Delhi High Court verdict awarding life sentence to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar is proof of Congress’s complicity in 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In a tweet, Mr Rathore said justice has finally been delivered.
BJP national spokesperson Sampit Patra today said that Delhi High Court order of life imprisonment for Sajjan Kumar of Congress party in the anti-Sikh riots case is a judgment against the ideology of hatred of Congress Party.
Addressing media persons in Bengaluru today, he said that Congress misled the court and misused CBI for rescuing culprits responsible for the massacre of 3500 sikhs across the country. He pointed out that Congress leader Kamalnath who is named in the Nanavati Commission report on 1984 anti-Sikh riots is made Chief Minister today.