SC to hear Sajjan Kumar's appeal on Jan 14

The Supreme Court will hear Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's appeal against his conviction in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on January 14.

On December 31, Kumar, who was awarded life sentence by the Delhi High Court in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, surrendered at the Karkardooma District Court.

After he surrendered, Kumar's lawyer HA Hashmi told reporters: "Court has sent him to Mandoli Jail. It has also ordered that a separate van would be provided for his movement due to security reasons."

Apart from Kumar, Mahender Yadav, and Kishan Khokhar, both convicts in the case also surrendered on the same day. The duo appeared before the court, which accepted their surrender application.

 

Overturning the acquittal granted to Kumar by a trial court in 2013, the Delhi High Court on December 17 convicted Kumar and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Kumar was convicted in the killing of five members of a family in Raj Nagar and the torching of a gurdwara in Delhi on November 1, 1984. At least 3,000 people were killed in the riots.

The court, which had asked the former MP to surrender before December 31, made stinging observations over the investigations and said there "appeared to be ongoing large-scale efforts to suppress cases against him".

"In the summer of 1947, during partition, several people were massacred. 37 years later Delhi was the witness of a similar tragedy. The accused enjoyed political patronage and escaped trial," the court had said.

It added that what happened in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was "carnage of unbelievable proportions" in which over 2,700 Sikhs were murdered in Delhi alone.

The victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots hailed the High Court's verdict.

In March, the Delhi High Court had received a petition containing a CD, which was stated to be Kumar's confession about accepting his role in the riots.

Earlier on December 27, the former parliamentarian appeared before Delhi's Patiala House Court for hearing in the second case, related to the riots, registered against him by the CBI on the recommendation of Nanavati Commission. The court has adjourned the matter till January 22.

Thousands of Sikhs were killed across India after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh, and Beant Singh.