A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court said there was no evidence to prove that Kumar instigated violence, led a mob, or was part of any conspiracy linked to the incidents.

While delivering the judgment, Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court said that the prosecution failed to meet the required legal standard of proof. The court pointed out serious issues in the testimonies of the witnesses examined in the case.

“Unfortunately, most of the witnesses examined by the prosecution in this case are hearsay, and/or those witnesses who failed to name the accused for three long decades. Relying on the identification of the accused by such persons would be risky and may lead to a travesty,” the judge said.

The court further stated that there was no reliable evidence to show that Sajjan Kumar was present at the crime scene on November 1, 1984. The judge said, “…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.”

The prosecution examined 18 witnesses in the case, including nine alleged eyewitnesses. The court focused mainly on the credibility and reliability of these witnesses while deciding the case. The judge also explained an important legal principle, saying, “A man may be convicted of 100 crimes, but to be held guilty of the 101st crime, proof beyond a reasonable doubt in that crime is required. One cannot be found guilty merely because in the past he was involved in similar offences. Past criminal background or the commission of other offences are separate and can have some value in sentencing a person, but they cannot be considered by a Court of law in holding a person guilty of another crime.”

Reacting to the judgment, Special Public Prosecutor of the State, Manish Rawat, said that the verdict is likely to be challenged in a higher court. He said that the prosecution may approach an appellate court to contest the decision. Senior Advocate HS Phoolka represented the complainant in the case, while Advocate Anil K Sharma appeared for the accused.

Earlier, in August 2023, a Delhi court had framed charges against Sajjan Kumar for rioting and promoting enmity in this case. However, he was discharged of murder and criminal conspiracy charges at that time. The present case was based on two FIRs registered in February 2015 in connection with incidents of violence during the 1984 riots in Delhi’s Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas.

The first FIR related to violence in Janakpuri, where two men, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, were killed on November 1, 1984. The second FIR was connected to the killing of Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set on fire a day later in Vikaspuri.

Despite the acquittal in this case, Sajjan Kumar continues to remain in jail in connection with other cases related to the 1984 riots. In February last year, a Delhi court sentenced him to life imprisonment in a case in which he was accused of leading a mob that burned alive Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984, and looted and destroyed their houses.

Kumar is also serving a life sentence awarded by the High Court in 2018 in a case involving the killing of five Sikhs and the burning down of a gurdwara during the violence of November 1–2, 1984. His appeal against that conviction is currently pending before the Supreme Court.

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots erupted after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. In the four days of violence that followed in Delhi, more than 2,700 members of the Sikh community were killed. However, justice has been limited in many cases. Out of the 587 FIRs registered in Delhi in connection with the riots, only 28 cases have resulted in convictions so far, and 13 of these convictions have been in murder cases.