INDIA

1984 Anti-Sikh riots case: Delhi court acquits former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar

Delhi court acquits former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case linked to Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas.

Pramode Mallik

Updated : Jan 22, 2026, 12:01 PM IST

1984 Anti-Sikh riots case: Delhi court acquits former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar

Sajjan Kumar, Former MP, Congress. (File Image)

In what may be called a setback for those who are seeking justice in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been acquitted. A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted him in a case linked to the alleged incitement of violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas of Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Lok Sabha MP from Outer Delhi resigned from the party after he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the murder and involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. A fact-finding team jointly organised by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) concluded that attacks on Sikhs after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were not from spontaneous outrage over. It also found that Sajjan Kumar was most commonly named by Sikh riot survivors for being responsible for the attacks in the Delhi locality of Sultanpuri.

Delhi court verdict on Sajjan Kumar

Sajjan Kumar hit the headlines after the Delhi riots as survivors named him in multiple cases. However, he was acquitted in April 2013 by the Karkardooma District Court in Delhi, although he had been convicted in five other cases. After widespread protests over the acquittal, the CBI filed an appeal in August. Delhi High Court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment on December 17, 2018, for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He resigned on December 18, 2018. The former Congress MP filed an application for bail on health grounds, which was rejected by the Supreme Court on May 13, 2020. The court said that Sajjan Kumar did not need to be admitted into a hospital for his treatment. It rejected another bail plea on September 4, 2020. He was granted bail by a special CBI court on 27 April 2022. However, he remained in jail as he was convicted in another case.

Sajjan Kumar convicted in another case

Sajjan Kumar was convicted in another case on February 12, 2025. He was found guilty of instigating and participating in the murder of Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, during the anti-Sikh riots. It was alleged that a mob of Congress supporters attacked the father-son duo and doused them with petrol and burnt them alive on November 1, 1984. Kumar and his supporters were also accused of assaulting the wife and niece of Jaswant Singh, who tried to protect the two men. The court said in its judgment that though the killing of “two innocent persons” was a serious crime, it did not fall under the “rarest of rare cases” category that would justify the death penalty.

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