The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has sentenced Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress MP, to life imprisonment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case related to the Saraswati Vihar violence.
New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has sentenced Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress MP, to life imprisonment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case related to the Saraswati Vihar violence. This is the second life sentence he has received in connection with the horrific riots; he is already serving a life sentence in the Delhi Cantt case.
Courtroom Argument: ‘A Crime Bigger Than Nirbhaya’
Delhi Police argued in court that the 1984 Sikh massacre was a planned brutality that should be classified as a crime against humanity. Police stated, "While the Nirbhaya case targeted one woman, the 1984 riots targeted an entire community."
On November 1, 1984, Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarun Deep Singh, two Sikhs, were brutally murdered in Delhi's Saraswati Vihar area. A case was registered at the Saraswati Vihar police station following the incident. The case was reopened based on affidavits submitted by the complainants before the Ranganath Mishra Commission, leading the court to convict Sajjan Kumar.
Death Penalty Demanded, Life Imprisonment Awarded
Considering the case as "rarest of rare," Delhi Police and the victims had demanded the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar. However, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment, meaning he will spend the remainder of his life in prison. Before the verdict, the 80-year-old Sajjan Kumar pleaded for leniency, stating, "I suffer from several serious ailments and have been in jail since 2018. My conduct in jail has always been good, and I haven't been granted parole or furlough. The court should consider my social work and grant minimum punishment on humanitarian grounds."
The court rejected his plea, stating that the crime fell under the category of crimes against humanity and mandated a strict punishment for the convict.
Thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. While charges were filed against several other leaders besides Sajjan Kumar, most cases took decades to reach a verdict. This recent judgment has raised hopes for justice among other victims of the riots.
