New Delhi [India], February 25: Ahead of the trial court’s pronouncement of the sentence for Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, a protest was organized outside the court on Tuesday by members of the Sikh community, led by Sikh leader Gurlad Singh. Protesters were demanding the death penalty for Kumar, who had been convicted for his involvement in the murders of a father and his son in Saraswati Vihar, Delhi, during the riots.
Gurlad Singh, who is also a main petitioner in the ongoing Sikh riots cases being heard by the Supreme Court, urged the court to deliver the maximum sentence to Kumar. He emphasized that over 40 years had passed since the tragic events, and justice for the victims and their families must be served. “It’s a judicial phrase that justice delayed is justice denied. Four decades have passed now. We demand only the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar. These cases fall under the rarest of the rare category, as the 1984 riots were a pre-planned genocide orchestrated by the Congress leadership,” Singh said.
The Sikh community, still grieving the loss of their loved ones, hopes that the sentencing will provide some closure and justice. Singh also noted that the Supreme Court had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2016 to investigate the Sikh riots cases.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja is scheduled to pronounce the sentence for Sajjan Kumar at 2 PM today. Kumar, who is already serving a life sentence for his 2018 conviction by the Delhi High Court in a separate case related to the anti-Sikh riots, faces further sentencing in this case.
During the last court session, the judge ordered a psychiatric and psychological evaluation from Tihar Jail authorities, in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling that mandates such assessments before considering the death penalty. The prosecution, led by the CBI, submitted written arguments demanding the death penalty, citing Kumar’s role in the riots as amounting to genocide and ethnic cleansing. Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat emphasized that a life sentence would not be enough for the severity of Kumar’s crimes.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots were triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her Sikh bodyguards, leading to the killing of at least 2,800 people in Delhi alone.