Delhi Court Acquits Sajjan Kumar in 4th 1984 Sikh Genocide Case

A Delhi court acquitted former Indian National Congress Member of Parliament Sajjan Kumar in a case linked to instigation of violence during the 1984 Sikh genocide. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh delivered a brief oral order clearing Kumar of rioting and communal violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas of west Delhi due to lack of witnesses. The prosecution stemmed from two First Information Reports (FIR) registered by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in February 2015. One FIR related to the killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri on 1 Nov 1984. The second FIR concerned the death of Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set on fire in Vikaspuri on 2 Nov 1984. Gurcharan’s advocate Navkiran Singh said his client was a boy when the mob threw him into a burning truck. He survived with severe injuries and was bedridden until 2009 when he succumbed to his death. Advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka stated another witness, Harvinder Singh Kohli, provided evidence to SIT but passed away before he could record his statement in the court. Though five members of the Kohli family testified that they saw Kumar leading the mob, the court did not find the testimonies sufficient. In Ludhiana, families of victims gathered to raise slogans against the verdict, alleging that justice has once again been denied. Nirmal Kaur, who saw her father being burnt alive, said, ‘I was destroyed, and every good thing in my life was taken away.’ Bagi Kaur, whose ten family members were killed, said not a single day had passed in all these years when she missed a court hearing, regardless of the circumstances. She added, ‘Our pain has now been completely disregarded.’ However, Kumar will continue to stay in jail. On 25 Feb 2025, the special Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi had sentenced him to a double life imprisonment for the murder of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Delhi's Saraswati Vihar. Kumar is already serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail for the killing of five Sikhs at Raj Nagar (earlier coverage).