4 August 2025,
Monday
4 August 2025,
Monday
1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Case: Sajjan Kumar was sentenced on Tuesday, 25 February, in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja pronounced the life imprisonment sentence at 2 pm. Sajjan Kumar is already serving a life sentence following a 2018 conviction by the Delhi High Court in a related case concerning the anti-Sikh riots. The 1984 riots erupted on 31 October 1984, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. These riots resulted in the deaths of at least 2,800 people in the national capital.
1- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on 31 October 1984.
2- Anti-Sikh riots broke out in Delhi and several other parts of the country on 1 November 1984, the day after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination.
3- Media reports indicate that approximately 2,800 people were killed in Delhi alone during these riots. The nationwide death toll is estimated to be around 3,500.
4- In May 2000, the GT Nanavati Commission was constituted to investigate the riots.
5- Based on the recommendations of the GT Nanavati Commission, the CBI registered a case on 24 October 2005.
6- Subsequently, the trial court issued summons on 1 February 2010 to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, Balwan Khokar, Mahender Yadav, Captain Bhagmal, Girdhari Lal, Kishan Khokar, Maha Singh, and Santosh Rani.
7- The court acquitted Sajjan Kumar on 30 April 2013.
8- The CBI appealed to the High Court on 19 July 2013. The High Court issued a notice to Sajjan Kumar on 22 July 2013.
9- Following the murder of five Sikhs and the burning of a Gurudwara in Palam Colony, Delhi Cantt the High Court convicted Sajjan Kumar on 17 December 2018 for the murder of the five Sikhs. The court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment.
10-The then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, apologised in Parliament 21 years after the riots. He stated in Parliament, "Whatever happened makes my head hang in shame."
