A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case linked to the 1984 anti Sikh riots, giving him relief in proceedings related to violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas of the national capital.
The verdict was pronounced by the Rouse Avenue Court, where the matter had been pending after final arguments were completed last month. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh orally announced the order, while a detailed judgment is awaited.
The case was based on two FIRs registered in February 2015 by a Special Investigation Team following complaints of violence during the riots in West Delhi. The prosecution had alleged that the incidents led to the deaths of three people.
One FIR related to the killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri on November 1, 1984. The second FIR concerned the death of Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set on fire in Vikaspuri on November 2, 1984.
The court had reserved its order on December 22 after hearing final submissions from both sides and fixed January 22 for the pronouncement of the verdict. Sajjan Kumar was produced before the court amid tight security arrangements on the day the order was reserved.
During the trial, Kumar denied all allegations and maintained that he had no role in the violence. He told the court that he had never participated in any riot and said there was no evidence linking him to the incidents.
In August 2023, the court had framed charges against Kumar for rioting and promoting enmity but had discharged him from murder and criminal conspiracy charges in this case.
Despite the acquittal, Sajjan Kumar remains in jail as he is serving a life sentence awarded in another 1984 riots case. In February last year, a trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in the Saraswati Vihar area.
Earlier, in December 2018, the Delhi High Court had also upheld his life sentence in a separate case related to the killing of five people in Palam Colony following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
According to the Nanavati Commission report, 587 FIRs were registered in Delhi in connection with the 1984 anti Sikh riots, which claimed the lives of 2,733 people. Of these, only 28 cases resulted in convictions, while a large number were closed or ended in acquittal.
