In a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, a Delhi court has ruled that former Delhi Congress leader Sajjan Kumar be charged with murder and rioting.
“…this court is of the considered opinion that a prima facie case is made out against the accused for commission of the offences punishable under Sections 147/148/149 IPC (rioting) as well as the offences punishable under Sections 302/308/323/395/397/427/436/440 (murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences) read with Section 149 IPC,” said Special Judge MK Nagpal. As a result, charges are to be filed against him for the aforementioned offences.”
The judge concluded in his December 4 order that there was enough evidence on the record to prove that Kumar was not only a member of the mob, but also its leader.
On December 16, the court is expected to formally define allegations against Kumar, and he will be asked whether he wants to plead guilty or go to trial.
The judge, on the other hand, found him not guilty of attempted murder and evidence destruction due to a lack of “adequate or prima facie material.”
On November 1, 1984, a mob led by Kumar allegedly killed S Jaswant Singh and his son S Tarun Deep Singh, both inhabitants of Raj Nagar in West Delhi. In 1985, a FIR was filed based on an affidavit by the complainant, whose identity was not revealed.
The Ministry of Home Affairs established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2015 to reinvestigate the 1984 anti-Sikh rioting cases, which closed 233 of the 292 cases it looked into. On November 23, 2016, the complainant gave her statement to the SIT. The SIT has filed chargesheets in five cases thus far.
Kumar (75) is already receiving a life sentence for his role in anti-Sikh rioting in another case. He has been in custody since December 31, 2018, when he surrendered — 14 days after the Delhi High Court convicted him and sentenced him to life in prison. On November 1-2, 1984, he was arrested for the murder of five Sikhs in the Delhi Cantonment’s Raj Nagar Part-I district of southwest Delhi, as well as the burning down of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part-II.
On September 21, the Supreme Court denied him interim bail, stating that his medical condition was stable. “He (Kumar) has been charged with horrific crimes…” “You want him to be treated like a very VIP patient,” a bench led by Justice SK Kaul told his lawyer.
