Ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar sentenced for life in 1984 riots case

A trial court on Tuesday sentenced former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in a case of murder during the 1984 Delhi anti-Sikh riots.

This case is related to the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in the Saraswati Vihar area on 1 November 1984. The sentencing came amid heated protests by the members of the Sikh community earlier in the day, demanding a death penalty for the former Congress MP.

Describing the 1984 riots — which broke out after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards on 31 October, 1984 — as one of the "darkest and most shameful" chapters in India's history, the protesters demanded justice and urged the court to sentence Sajjan Kumar to death.

The Rouse Avenue court, which had reserved its verdict on 31 January after hearing additional submissions advanced by public prosecutor Manish Rawat, had on 12 February convicted Kumar in connection with the killings.

His advocate Anil Sharma had submitted that Kumar's name was not there from the very beginning, and there was a delay of 16 years in naming him as an accused by the witness. It was also submitted that a case in which Kumar was convicted by Delhi High Court is pending an appeal before the Supreme Court. Special judge Kaveri Baweja had posted the arguments on the quantum of the sentence for 18 February.

The BJP has been constantly demanding the expulsion of Sajjan Kumar from the Congress, calling the party "anti-Sikh" for not taking appropriate action. BJP leader and now minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa had also written to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi seeking the Kumar's expulsion, asking Gandhi to prove his commitment to justice and communal harmony by issuing "a public apology to the Sikh community and the entire nation for the Congress' role in sheltering and empowering criminals like Sajjan Kumar".