Sajjan Kumar: The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case linked to Janakpuri and Vikas Puri police stations. The Janakpuri case pertains to the killing of two Sikhs, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, on November 1, 1984.
The second case was registered in the Vikaspuri police station related to the burning of Gurcharan Singh on November 2, 1984.
Sajjan Kumar Acquitted
Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh acquitted Sajjan Kumar after trying him in a case lodged by the SIT formed by the Central Government.
The court had reserved judgment on January 22. Sajjan Kumar was discharged of murder charges in 2023.
Additional public prosecutor (APP) Manish Rawat appeared for the prosecution. Advocate Anil Kumar Sharma alongwith Apoorv Sharma and SA Hashmi, appeared for Sajjan Kumar.
On July 7, during the recording of his statement, Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar denied the charges levelled against him in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. He had stated before the court that he was not present at the site of the riots and was falsely implicated.
The court had discharged Kumar from the offence of murder on August 23, 2023.
What Were The Charges Against Sajjan Kumar?
The Court had framed charges against Kumar under sections of IPC 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (offence is committed by any member of unlawful assembly in prosecution of the common object of that assembly), 153 (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 307 (attempt of murder), 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (deals with punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 395 (Punishment for Dacoity) and 426 (Punishment for mischief) etc.
The Special court while ordered framing of charges stated that, “this court is of prima facie view that the oral and documentary evidence placed on record by prosecution is sufficient to hold that an unlawful assembly or mob consisting of hundreds of persons and armed with deadly weapons like dandas, iron rods, bricks and stones etc. had gathered near the Gurudwara situated in Gulab Bagh, Nawada on November 1, 1984.”
Sajjan Kumar Part of Mob
Court had noted that the accused Sajjan Kumar was also a part of the said mob and common object of the said mob was to put the above said Gurudwara on fire and to burn and loot the articles lying therein and also to burn and destroy the houses of Sikhs situated in the said locality, to damage, destroy or loot their articles or property and to kill the Sikhs residing in that locality, in order to avenge killing of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Hence, a prima facie case is held to be made out against the accused/Sajjan Kumar, for the commission of the offences punishable under sections 147, 148, 149, 153A, 295, 307, 308, 323, 395, 436 IPC and charges are accordingly directed to be framed against him for the said offences. Further, in alternative, a charge for the offence of abetment defined by Section 107 IPC and made punishable by Section 109 read with 114 IPC in relation to the above said offences is also directed to be framed against the accused as the accused being principal abettor was present at the scene of crime, when the offences abetted by him were committed by the other unknown offenders.
1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
However, as far as the offences committed during the incident dated November 02, 1984 and which relate to the murder of Sohan Singh and Avtar Singh at the hands of members of the mob or crowd, which had gathered on that date near or outside the Congress party office in Uttam Nagar, and also the injuries suffered by complainant Harvinder Singh in the said incident, are concerned, the accused is being discharged for the offences Under section 302 and 325 IPC respectively committed in the said incident for the reasons already discussed in this order, court had said.
(With inputs from ANI)
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
