PUDR acknowledges imprisonment for life handed down to Sajjan Kumar by the Delhi Special Court on 25^th of February 2025 for the murder of father-son duo Jaswant Singh and Tarundeep Singh at PS Saraswati Vihar on 01^st of November 1984. The case is based on the complaint filed before Justice Rangnath Mishra Commission of Inquiry by the wife of the deceased Jaswant Singh and mother of Tarundeep Singh, later converted into the FIR No. 458/91 U/S 147/ 148/ 149/ 395/397/302/ 307/ 436/ 440 of IPC. The complainant had identified Sajjan Kumar when his photograph appeared in a magazine later and accused him of leading the mob which burned alive her husband and son, damaged and looted their household articles and other property, burnt down their house and inflicted severe injuries on their family members and relatives residing in their house. It should also be noted here that despite the fact that the case was originally registered under the FIR No. 511/84, and her statement was recorded under U/S 161 of Cr.P.C., the incident was neither investigated fully by the police and nor was it made the subject matter of the chargesheet filed before the court in the said case.

Concluding the trial, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court said the evidence put forward by the prosecution clearly shows that the accused, Sajjan Kumar was guilty of leading a mob that aside from brutally murdering Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh, also engaged in looting, burning and destruction of property of the complainant. Accordingly, she considered this as a fit case and awarded two life sentences – one for the murder under section 302 and other for offence under 436 IPC for arson and damaging property by fire or explosives.  Both sentences will run concurrently. While the prosecution had asked for the death penalty in this case, the judge noted Sajjan Kumar’s conduct in prison, his illness and advanced age as part of the mitigating factors against the imposition of the death sentence.

The conviction of Kumar comes 40 years after he was accused of leading murderous mobs across the city, instigating attacks and arson against the Sikhs following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Notably, Sajjan Kumar was first convicted by the Delhi High Court in 2018 for exhorting a mob that led to the deaths of five Sikhs in the Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantonment during 1984. He went on to retain his seat at the outer Delhi constituency and continued to escape accountability for his role in the anti-Sikh pogroms that saw 587 FIRs being registered for at least 2,733 murders in the capital. Of these 241 were shown as untraceable, 11 were quashed, and 3 were withdrawn, leaving a total of 302 cases. Of these it was only in 25 cases that conviction happened and about 20 cases are pending in various courts today. (for more detail see PUDR statement dated 1^st Nov 2024)

The conviction of Sajjan Kumar, arriving as it does, 40 years after the pogroms nonetheless poses serious questions on the legal-judicial system, especially in terms of its responsiveness towards grievance redressal – even for some of the most heinous crimes against humanity and the proclivity of the system to be influenced by political forces. Additionally, Sajjan Kumar’s history as an important and visible leader of the Congress Party only lends credence to the possibility of his conviction being moved with political considerations in mind. Thirdly, an overwhelming majority of the cases are still ‘lost’ or ‘untraceable’, on account of ineffectiveness or connivance of investigation agencies, with many of the actual perpetrators of the violence not being held to account. Indeed, many of those women who were the worst affected of the pogrom have continued to lead their lives in oblivion with little-to-no assistance from the state in rehabilitating and rebuilding their lives.

So, while acknowledging the occasion, PUDR advises caution in marking the occasion; keeping in mind the long time elapsed since 1984 and the potentialities of politicizing justice and reducing real individuals to forgotten footnotes. Therefore, PUDR demands:

• Dedicated efforts to rediscover case files marked as lost
• Fast-tracking of cases involving other figures apart from high-profile political figures
• Setting up of a Commission/Committee to investigate the current living conditions of the people affected by the anti-Sikh pogrom and recommend appropriate, justiciable and enforceable compensation

Harish Dhawan and Paramjeet Singh
(Secretaries)

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