The prosecution on Tuesday asked for the death penalty for ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, calling it a "rarest of rare" crime. The demand was made in a written argument before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, highlighting the gravity of the offense. Life imprisonment is the minimum punishment for murder, but the prosecution argued for capital punishment on the basis of the barbarity of the assault.
Defense seeks time, hearing adjourned
Kumar's counsel asked for time to plead, saying attorneys were boycotting work on Tuesday in protest against the Advocate Amendment Bill, 2025. The court has postponed the hearing to February 21 so that the defence could put its points across.
Complainant lawyer H.S. Phoolka, senior advocate, supported the prosecution request for the death penalty and asked for time to argue the case.
Murder case background
Kumar, who is currently residing in Tihar Jail, stands accused of carrying out the assassinations of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984, during the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
At first, the Punjabi Bagh Police Station lodged the case, but subsequently, it was handled over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The court framed charges against Kumar on December 16, 2021, and held there was a prima facie case against him.
The prosecution has charged that a violent mob, wielding lethal weapons, carried out mass looting, burning, and assaults on Sikh properties. The complainant, wife of Jaswant Singh, stated that her house was attacked, looted, and burned down, and her husband and son were killed by the rioters.
1984 riots and legal fallout
2,733 individuals were massacred in Delhi alone, according to the Nanavati Commission report, during the 1984 riots. Among 587 FIRs filed:
- 240 cases were closed as “untraced”
- 250 cases resulted in acquittals
- Only 28 cases led to convictions, with about 400 people found guilty
- Around 50 individuals were convicted for murder, including Kumar
Previous conviction and pending appeal
Kumar, a powerful Congress leader and then MP, was earlier convicted in another case involving the murder of five individuals in Palam Colony on November 1-2, 1984. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court, and his appeal against the conviction is pending before the Supreme Court.
The subsequent hearing for this case of murder will be on February 21, where the court will listen to both sides' arguments before it makes its ruling on the sentencing.
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