Delhi Court Acquits Former MP Sajjan Kumar In 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Cases

On January 22, 2026, Special Judge Digvijay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts acquitted 78-year-old former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar.

The case concerned allegations of violence during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, including the killings of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Janakpuri, and the alleged burning of Gurcharan Singh in Vikaspuri.

The riots erupted following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on 31 October 1984.

Decades later, the Justice GP Mathur Committee recommended reopening 114 riot-related cases, prompting the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

In August 2023, the trial court framed charges against Sajjan Kumar under various sections of the Indian Penal Code but dropped the earlier murder charge under Section 302 IPC.

The trial concluded on 23 September 2025, with the verdict reserved on 22 December.

Sajjan Kumar consistently maintained his innocence, asserting that he had not been present at the sites of violence and that no material evidence linked him to the incidents.

Victims’ statements, including that of Manjeet Kaur, mentioned hearsay regarding his presence but did not provide direct eyewitness testimony.

Sajjan Kumar, who was a Member of Parliament at the time of the riots, has faced multiple riot-related cases.

In an earlier case, the Delhi High Court had convicted him, observing that he had evaded justice for decades through ‘political patronage’.

His appeal against that conviction remains pending before the Supreme Court.

The acquittal marks a significant development in one of the most closely watched legal proceedings connected to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which continue to evoke strong public and political interest more than four decades later.

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