Sajjan Kumar Gets Life Term in 1984 Riots Case: Timeline

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar was on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment for his involvement in the murdering two people during the anti-Sikh riots back in 1984. Below is a summary of the various events leading to the conclusion of this case.

*1991: An FIR is reported regarding this case.

*Jul 8, 1994: The Delhi court decided that there was not enough evidence for prosecution, therefore, the case was never brought forward against Kumar.

*Feb 12, 2015: The Government sets up a special investigations team.

*Nov 21, 2016: SIT tells court that the case requires further investigation. April 6, 2021: Kumar is detained.

*May 5, 2021: Police provides chargesheet.

*Jul 26: The court acknowledges the chargesheet.

*October 1: The court starts hearing charges against Kumar.

*December 16: The court decides on charges of murder, rioting, and other offenses.

*January 31, 2024: The court hearing final arguments.

*November 8: The court withheld its verdict.

*February 12, 2025: The court verdicts in favor of the conviction of Kumar.

*February 25, Kumar is sentenced to life imprisonment.

As per Nanavati Commission reports, which were established to investigate the violence and its effects, almost 587 FIRs have been registered across Delhi for the riots in which around 2733 individuals were murdered. Among those, close to 240 FIRs were marked as ‘untraced’ by the police and approximately 250 of the cases were marked as acquittals.

Only 28 of the 587 FIRs have brought a conviction and roughly 400 individuals were found guilty. This count includes around 50 people that were convicted for murder, including Kumar himself.

During his time as an MP, Kumar, a prominent Congress leader, was juananged for murder alongside the rest of the accused in the Delhi Palam colony that occurred in the November of 1st and 2nd of 1984 in which five people were killed. In this case, he was awarded life sentence by the Delhi High Court, while his appeal which challenges the sentencing is pending in front of the Supreme Court.

Apart from the aforementioned, another appeal in front of Delhi High Court against Kumar's acquittal by a trial court is still pending, while a Delhi court is in the process of trial in fourth of such cases.