Key Points:
The Rouse Avenue Court on January 22, 2026, acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, citing lack of credible evidence proving his involvement.
Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh held that there was no reliable evidence establishing Sajjan Kumar’s presence at the crime scene, his participation in an unlawful assembly, or his involvement through instigation, conspiracy, or abetment, leading to his acquittal.
The court observed that most prosecution witnesses gave hearsay statements, failed to name the accused for three decades, and could not provide concrete proof to establish his role in instigating the particular mob involved in the violence.
A Delhi Court on Thursday, January 22, 2026, acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Rouse Avenue Court, while passing the judgement, cited the lack of credible evidence that would hold significant ground proving his involvement in the case. This acquittal specifically pertains to Sajjan Kumar’s involvement in the case related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri in Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the aforementioned order. Concluding the matter, he delivered the following judgement : “Resultantly, because of a lack of credible evidence as to the presence of the accused in the crime in question or a part of the unlawful assembly or his involvement in any manner, either through instigation, conspiracy, or abetment of any other nature, he is acquitted of the charges.”
The Court noted in its proceedings that most of the prosecution witnesses’ statements were hearsay, and many of them failed to name the accused for 3 long decades. Dismissing the alleged eyewitnesses’ testimonies lacking concrete proof of Sajjan Kumar’s involvement to establish his role in instigating the particular mob in the matter, Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh ordered his acquittal.
The Court also observed that it could not lower its standard of proof required in this case even if the accused is a former MP. According to the judgement of the case on Live Law: “... there is no reliable evidence in the present matter that the accused was present at the crime scene for which he has been charged on 01.11.1984, or that he was seen there by anyone. There is no evidence of instigating any such mob. There is no evidence of conspiracy so far as the incident in question is concerned, and this Court has no hesitation in holding that the prosecution has not met the standard of proof required in a criminal trial to prove the guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
It is important to note here that Sajjan Kumar is still convicted in other cases related to the riots. His acquittal in this one particular case does not automatically negate other convictions or sentences already imposed in separate proceedings. Sajjan Kumar, therefore, remains in custody because he is serving, or has other pending sentences from other convictions, which are independent and subject to their own appeals.
Sajjan Kumar is currently serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail. The Delhi High Court had passed the sentence in 2018 in another 1984 riots case related to the killing of five Sikhs in Palam Colony. He was also convicted of being actively involved in the burning down of a gurudwara on November 1-2, 1984.
On February 25, 2025, he was handed another life imprisonment relating to a murder case linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Court, passed the aforementioned order. He was convicted for inciting violence and subsequently leading an enraged mob that burned two Sikhs alive – Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh – in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984, and then destroyed and looted their houses.
Sajjan Kumar faces several other cases linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In 2023, a Delhi Court charged him with rioting and promoting enmity in a case, while acquitted him of murder of seven Sikhs in Sultanpuri. He was also booked in two separate cases in February 2015, relating to complaints of violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri during the riots.
Sajjan Kumar also has a case pending before the Rouse Avenue Court, while two appeals against his acquittal in previous cases, although linked largely to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, have been filed in Delhi High Court. He had also filed an appeal against conviction in one case in the Supreme Court.
Operation Bluestar (June 1, 1984) led to the desecration of the Holy Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in 1984. While it resulted in successful elimination of Khalistani extremists and separatists taking shelter in the sacred Golden Temple, the Sikh community was enraged over tanks entering the site, and bullets shot. This led to a political tension where Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, was advised to review her security detail, and replace her Sikh bodyguards with non-Sikh bodyguards. However, she refused to do so, keeping the integrity of the nation in mind, and highlighting that this would send a wrong signal to the Union of India.
On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards- Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. This led to an outrage among many sections of the society, turning to violence against many Sikh communities across India. The aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assasination led to large scale riots that occurred from November 1, 1984 to November 4, 1984, killing many innocent people and displacing several others. According to official government figures, over 2,700 members of the Sikh Community were killed. However, out of the total 587 FIRs registered in Delhi, only 28 have ended in convictions, and several cases are still pending.
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