A Delhi court acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar now faces a maximum of death penalty and a minimum of life term in prison after being convicted on Wednesday by a Delhi court in a murder case stemming from 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Sajjan Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
A Delhi court reserved its order on the quantum of sentence against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots for February 25. The complainant, whose husband and son were killed, sought the maximum punishment of death penalty for Kumar. The court on February 12 convicted Kumar for the offence and sought a report from Tihar jail on his psychiatric and psychological evaluation.
A Delhi court sentenced former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of two Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court cited Kumar's age and illness as mitigating factors in its decision to impose a lesser sentence than the death penalty. Kumar was convicted for being part of a mob that set fire to the victims' home and killed them. This is the second life imprisonment sentence for Kumar in connection with the 1984 riots. He is also facing other charges related to the riots.
However, it was only in May 2023 that the central probe agency the CBI filed a chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for his alleged role in the killings of three people on November 1, 1984.
"Sorry. We are not inclined. Dismissed," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing Kumar, said that his client be granted bail as if something happens to him in jail then his life imprisonment would become death penalty for him.
The apex court, which dealt with the submission advanced by Kumar's counsel that the former MP be allowed to undergo treatment at a private hospital at his own cost, observed that he cannot be treated as a 'super VIP patient'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi filed her nomination papers from the New Delhi constituency on Friday and declared her assets worth over Rs 34 crore which includes wealth of her husband and two children.
Jagdish Kaur and Narpreet Kaur, whose families were devastated in the riots which claimed over 3,000 lives, said although 34 years is a long time, they were determined to "unmask the accused" and their fight for justice will go on.
Kumar was convicted and sentenced to life for the remainder of his life by the high court on December 17 in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Raj Nagar area.
The former Congress leader had sought more time, till January 30, to surrender saying he has to settle family affairs related to children and property and also needs time to file appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court verdict.
Kumar, who was directed by the high court on Monday to surrender before authorities by December 31, sought more time saying he has to settle family affairs.
The trial court declined the plea of Kumar's lawyer that he be sent to high-security Tihar Jail.
The Delhi high court called the anti-Sikh riots case "communal frenzy" after the then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards.
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