Fmr Congress MP Sajjan Kumar convicted

 Anti-Sikh riots case 1984
Fmr Congress MP Sajjan Kumar convicted

Court reserves judgement for final arguments on 18 Feb.

SYED WAJID 
sufijourno@gmail.com

The most awaited verdict in regard to pogrom followed by the assassination of the then prime minister Mrs Indira Gandhi on October 31,1984 was pronounced by the Session Court. Delhi Police (State) with unstinted efforts for three long decades' battle got the judgement that convicted the accused Sajjan Kumar, an ex MP (LS) who orchestrated the massacre in which the sikh community was targetted. Many households were set aflame, innocent people were slaughtered and a lot many were rendered homeless in the mayhem.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been convicted in a 1984 Anti-Sikh riot case involving the murder of a father-son duo in Delhi's Saraswati Vihar. The court has scheduled the sentencing for February 18. Kumar is presently serving a life term for another riot case. The court found Kumar leading a mob that attacked and killed Sikhs post-Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The court reserved the judgment after hearing the final arguments in the case related to the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984.

On December 16, 2021, the court framed charges against Kumar, finding a "prima facie" case against him.

According to the prosecution, a huge mob, armed with deadly weapons, resorted to large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs to avenge the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The mob attacked the house of the complainant, Jaswant's wife, killing her husband and son apart from looting articles and setting their house ablaze, alleged the prosecution.

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

In the order, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja referred to Delhi High Court's 2018 conviction of Kumar in another riots case. Quoting the high court order, the special court underlined that "no amount of time can be too long to satisfy the needs for truth and some measure of accountability, nor can some arbitrary legal time limit be set. The argument that some wounds are too old to be exposed has little moral integrity... the wounds are still there for all to see."

It was noted that an affidavit submitted by the anti-Sikh riots cell in the Supreme Court revealed that 650 cases were registered by Delhi Police, for which chargesheets were filed in 362 cases. However, only in 39 cases were 442 individuals convicted of various crimes.

The bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan received the affidavit filed by deputy commissioner of police Sanjay Kumar on Feb 7 while hearing a public interest litigation filed by former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee member Gurlad Singh Kahlon. Earlier, the Supreme Court had, on Kahlon's petition, constituted an SIT (Special Investigation Team) headed by justice SN Dhingra (retd) to investigate 186 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.

Of the 650 cases filed, the courts acquitted the accused in 323, while 267 cases were deemed to be ‘untraced'. Only 266 cases were accepted by the courts. The affidavit also said that some incidents of murder and gang rapes were never investigated, charges in 51 murders were not framed and three FIRs had been filed for 48 murders.

The affidavit noted that the Delhi HC did not entertain appeals filed by the cops against the acquittals. The police affidavit says appeals were filed in eight cases and all of them were dismissed by Delhi High Court on the grounds of delayed submission. Four appeals are pending in the DHC.

Regarding an FIR registered in Delhi Cantt. the absconding pair accused of murdering two men were declared POs (Proclaimed Offenders) but did not face any trial for the murders. In this case too, according to the affidavit, the appeal was filed in a perfunctory manner and the reasons for the committee recommending the filing of the appeal were not brought to the notice of the court. The witnesses directed by the prosecution were not produced. The High Court did not consider the peculiar facts and dismissed the appeal on the ground that an earlier appeal of a different police station was dismissed. The appeal was not filed formally and also proper facts were presented before the Delhi High Court but it was dismissed on the ground of delay, the affidavit stated.

As for allegations that SHO inspector Shurvir Singh Tyagi  impounded the licensed firearms of some Sikhs before beckoning to the mob to attack them and that he had arrested Sikhs, but not a single rioter, the affidavit stated, because of the lapse of time, disciplinary proceedings could not be initiated against him.