What is the 1984 anti-Sikhs riot case in which ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been convicted?

Former Delhi Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been convicted in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The order was delivered by the Delhi court of special judge Kaveri Baweja.

Arguments over the sentencing will take place on February 18.

But what do we know about the case in which Kumar was convicted?

Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know?

As per News18, the case deals with the killing of a father and son on November 1, 1984.

As per The Times of India, the victims, Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh were murdered in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar area.

The case was initially registered at the Punjabi Bagh police station.

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However, it was taken over by a special investigation team formed at the recommendation of the Justice GP Mathur Committee.

The commission had been appointed by Rajiv Gandhi “to inquire into the organised violence that took place in Delhi and also the disturbances in the Bokaro Tehsil and Chas Tehsil (both in present-day Jharkhand) and at Kanpur, and to recommend measures that may be adopted for prevention of recurrence of such incidents,” as per Indian Express.

The court found sufficient material to form a "prima facie opinion that he was not only a participant, but had also led the mob."

The court, thus finding a prima facie case against Kumar, framed charges against him on December 16, 2021.

As per Indian Express, Kumar was charged with murder, rioting with a deadly weapon, unlawful assembly and attempt to commit culpable homicide and several other charges.

The SIT was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat.

Kumar was represented by Anil Kumar Sharma, Anuj Sharma and Apoorav Sharma.

The complainants, the wife and mother of the victims, were represented by senior advocate H S Phoolka and advocates Kamna Vohra and Gurbaksh Singh.

Kumar’s lawyers claimed that the complainants were unreliable witnesses.

As per The Times of India, Kumar was convicted of leading a mob that burned the men alive, destroyed their property, set their home on fire and badly injured their relatives.

The verdict was passed by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court.

Baweja is a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge.

Kumar is already serving a life sentence in another anti-Sikh riots case in Delhi, as per News18.

Kumar was convicted by the Delhi High Court in 2018 in case in which five Sikhs were killed at Raj Nagar Part I in Palam Colony on November 1-2, 1984.

A gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part II was also burned.

He was brought in from Tihar jail to hear the verdict.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned whether the Delhi Police was taking the appeals against the acquittals in the anti-Sikh riots cases seriously.

The bench remarked, “In several cases, you haven’t challenged the Delhi High Court’s ruling. Frankly, filing SLPs is ineffective unless they are seriously prosecuted. Were senior lawyers involved in earlier cases? It must be done with sincerity, not merely as a formality. The outcome isn’t the issue—we want it done earnestly."

With inputs from agencies