New Delhi: A city court on Tuesday (January 21) adjourned its verdict to January 31 in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against former Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Sajjan Kumar.
The case is related to the alleged killings of two people in Saraswati Vihar area in the national capital during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which broke out following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, who was scheduled to pass the verdict today, deferred the pronouncement of the verdict to January 31 after the prosecution sought time from the court to advance further arguments on certain points.
“January 31 is the next date,” the special judge said, news agency PTI reported.
Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar Jail serving life sentence in another 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
Kumar, who is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar central Jail serving life sentence in another 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, appeared before the court via video-conferencing.
Court earlier reserved its verdict
The court earlier had reserved its judgment after hearing the final arguments in the case, which is related to the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984.
The investigation of the case, which was initially registered by the Punjabi Bagh police station in Delhi, was subsequently taken over by a special investigation team.
Court framed charges against Kumar in December 2021
The trial court had framed charges against Kumar on December 16, 2021, stating that there was a “prima facie” case against him. The court had put the former MP on trial after it found sufficient material to form a “prima facie opinion that he (Kumar) was not only a participant, but had also led the mob”.
What is the case of the prosecution?
According to the prosecution, a large mob, which was armed with deadly weapons, resorted to large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs to avenge the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. The mob attacked the house of the complainant in the case, who is wife of deceased Jaswant Singh, and killed her husband and her son and looted articles and set their house ablaze.
