1984 riots: Delhi court defers verdict in murder case against Sajjan
A Delhi court on Tuesday deferred to January 31 its verdict in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case related to murder of two persons in Saraswati Vihar area against former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar after the prosecution sought time to further argue on certain points raised by the defence counsel on January 8.
Special judge Kaveri Baweja, who was scheduled to pronounce the order on Tuesday, deferred the pronouncement to January 31 following an application filed by the public prosecutor seeking to argue on certain points “essential for just adjudication of the case”.
Kumar is currently serving life imprisonment in Tihar Jail in another anti-Sikh riots case.
Baweja had reserved the verdict after hearing the final arguments in the case related to the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984. Punjabi Bagh police station registered the case and the probe was subsequently taken over by a special investigation team.
On December 16, 2021, the court framed charges against Kumar, finding a "prima facie" case against him.
According to the prosecution, a mob, armed with deadly weapons, resorted to large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs to avenge the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The mob attacked the house of the complainant, Jaswant's wife, killing her husband and son apart from looting articles and setting their house ablaze, alleged the prosecution.
Putting Kumar on trial, the court order found sufficient material to form a "prima facie opinion that he was not only a participant, but had also led the mob".
Around 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs, were killed in the anti-Sikh riots that broke out following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984 by her two Sikh bodyguards.
Kumar (79) has been in jail since December 31, 2018 when he surrendered after being convicted and awarded life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in another case relating to 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Raj Nagar Part I area in Palam Colony in South West Delhi in which five Sikhs were killed on November 1-2, 1984, and a gurdwara was burnt down in Raj Nagar Part II. The Supreme Court has refused to grant him bail.
