Ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar gets life term in case related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar on Feb 25 was awarded life imprisonment by a special court for the killing of a father-son dup in Delhi's Saraswati Vihar during the 1984 Sikh riots.

This is Kumar's second life term as he is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the Delhi Cantonment riots case.

The court convicted Kumar of inciting a mob to kill Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, in the Saraswati Vihar area of Delhi on November 1, 1984.

The verdict by the Rouse Avenue Court additionally sentenced him to two years under Section 147 for rioting, three years and a fine under Section 148 for rioting with deadly weapons and seven years under Section 308 for attempting culpable homicide with intent to cause death or serious harm.

The prosecution alleged that the mob, led by Kumar and armed with deadly weapons, were responsible for large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs.

In 1984, anti-Sikh sentiments led to deadly riots following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation for Operation Bluestar.

"We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We are not happy with the verdict of the court. We will appeal to the govt to go to a higher court and announce the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar," Sikh leader Gurlad Singh said.

The prosecution had earlier sought the death penalty for Kumar arguing that the case was graver than the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, as it involved the deliberate targeting of an entire community.

"The present case is more serious than the Nirbhaya case. In that case, a young woman was targeted, but here, people of a particular community were attacked," the prosecution said, noting that Kumar's crime falls under the "rarest of rare" category deserving of capital punishment.

The prosecution claimed the killings were brutal and vicious, which shocked the collective conscience of society.

It further argued that it was a crime against an entire community, amounting to genocide.

Kumar, who was a Member of Parliament at the time, is accused of actively participating in the violence and openly defying the rule of law.