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The prosecution in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on Tuesday sought the death penalty for former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, calling his actions in a related murder case a ‘rarest of rare ‘crime.
The prosecution’s request was made in a written submission to the court, and Special Judge Kaveri Baweja deferred the matter to February 21 after Kumar’s defense counsel requested more time to present arguments. The request was due to a boycott by lawyers in protest of the Advocate Amendment Bill, 2025.
Kumar is currently imprisoned in Tihar Jail. The case involves the murders of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh, who were killed on November 1, 1984, during the violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. While the Punjabi Bagh Police initially registered the case, a special investigation team later took over the probe.
On December 16, 2021, the court framed charges against Kumar, citing a “prima facie” case against him.
Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, representing the complainant, supported the prosecution’s demand for the death penalty, emphasizing the severity of the crime. The prosecution alleges that a massive mob, armed with deadly weapons, attacked Sikh-owned properties in a bid to avenge Gandhi’s assassination.
This included looting, arson, and the destruction of properties. The mob targeted the complainant’s home, killing Jaswant Singh and Tarundeep Singh while setting their house on fire, the prosecution claims.
The violence of 1984 resulted in the deaths of over 2,700 people, with many of the perpetrators evading justice for years. According to the Nanavati Commission, which was set up to investigate the violence, there were 587 FIRs filed in connection to the riots in Delhi.
However, many cases were either closed as “untraced” or resulted in acquittals. Only 28 of the 587 cases led to convictions, and around 400 individuals were convicted, including Kumar, who was found guilty in a related case involving the deaths of five individuals in Delhi’s Palam Colony.
Kumar, an influential Congress leader at the time of the riots, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in a separate case concerning the killings. He has since appealed the decision, with his case still pending before the Supreme Court.
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