Sajjan Kumar Sentenced to Life for 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

A Delhi court rejected calls for the death penalty, citing mitigating factors, in convicting the former Congress MP for leading a mob that killed two Sikh men.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment for orchestrating the murder of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
The court ruled out the death penalty, considering Kumar’s age, health issues, and reported good conduct in prison, despite calls from the prosecution and victims' families for harsher punishment.
Kumar is already serving a life sentence for his 2018 conviction in a separate case involving the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the same riots.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed in 2015, played a key role in reopening and prosecuting this case after decades of alleged political interference and inaction.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, resulted in thousands of deaths, with many cases still pending resolution in courts.