Sajjan Kumar convicted: More than 440 cases still pending in anti-Sikh riots of 1984

34 years after the killing of more than 3000 people in New Delhi, Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has been sentenced life prison by Delhi high court for his role in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. He has been convicted for instigating the mob during the riots. But there are still more than 400 cases pending and waiting for justice.

 The Delhi high court in October this year had reserved its order on Sajjan Kumar for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The central bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea challenged the lower court’s judgment where Sajjan Kumar was acquitted and five other men were convicted in the case.

Today the higher court found 72 years old Kumar guilty for instigating the mob during the riots. The order says that the 1984 riots were engineered by political actors and the convicts enjoyed political patronage. The court agrees that the criminals escaped prosecution and punishment for over two decades.

Hailing the judgement of Delhi high court, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the conviction of Kumar is a delayed vindication of justice.

As per the information shared in Rajya Sabha, the 1984 riots have so far 442 people convicted by various courts of Delhi in connection with the anti-Sikh massacre which killed almost 3000 people in Delhi alone. The rare punishment of death sentence has been handed down to only 2 people for the anti Sikh riots. According to reports only 587 first information reports (FIRs), official complaints were received for three days of violence in Delhi. Out of those, the police closed 241 cases without investigation, claiming inability to trace evidence. 

The court also states in its verdict that the police failed to register separate FIRs for several cases. Lawyer HS Phoolka who fought this case for 34 years says that the political patronage was provided to the convicts for many years.

After the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupted the following day. The riots continued in several parts of India for days. It is estimated that around 8,000 - 17,000 or more Sikhs were killed in other parts of India. There are cases still pending in several courts across India but mostly in Delhi.