‘Most witnesses hearsay, failed to name accused for 3 decades’: Delhi court acquits former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in 1984 Janakpuri-Vikaspuri anti-Sikh riot case
The prosecution examined 18 witnesses, including nine alleged eyewitnesses, in the anti-Sikh riots case. The judge chose to focus on the reliability of these witnesses' testimonies while passing judgment.
A Delhi court Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to inciting violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri in Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying there is “no evidence of instigating any such mob”, and “of conspiracy”.
“Unfortunately, most of the witnesses examined by the prosecution in this case are hearsay, and/or those witnesses who failed to name the accused for 3 long decades. Relying on the identification of the accused by such persons would be risky and may lead to a travesty,” said Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court in his judgment.
“…there is no reliable evidence in the present matter that the accused was present at the crime scene for which he has been charged on 01.11.1984, or that he was seen there by anyone. There is no evidence of instigating any such mob. There is no evidence of conspiracy so far as the incident in question is concerned, and this Court has no hesitation in holding that the prosecution has not met the standard of proof required in a criminal trial to prove the guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” he added.
The prosecution examined 18 witnesses, including nine alleged eyewitnesses, in the case. The judge chose to focus on the reliability of these witnesses’ testimonies while passing judgment.
“A man may be convicted of 100 crimes, but to be held guilty of the 101st crime, proof beyond a reasonable doubt in that crime is required. One cannot be found guilty merely because in the past he was involved in similar offences. Past criminal background or the commission of other offences are separate and can have some value in sentencing a person, but they cannot be considered by a Court of law in holding a person guilty of another crime,” the court said.
Manish Rawat, the Special Public Prosecutor of the State, told The Indian Express that the judgment is likely to be challenged before a higher court. While Senior Advocate HS Phoolka appeared for the complainant in the case, Advocate Anil K Sharma appeared for the accused.
In August 2023, a Delhi court charged Sajjan Kumar with rioting and promoting enmity in the case, while discharging him of murder and criminal conspiracy offences.
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In February 2015, Kumar was booked in two cases based on complaints of violence in Delhi’s Janakpuri and Vikaspuri during the riots. The first FIR was over the violence in Janakpuri, where two men, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh, were killed on November 1, 1984. The second FIR was registered in the case of Gurcharan Singh, who was allegedly set ablaze a day later in Vikaspuri.
In February last year, a Delhi court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in a case in which he was accused of leading a mob that burned alive one Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984, and looted and destroyed their houses.
Kumar is currently in jail after he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the HC in 2018 in a case relating to the killing of five Sikhs and the burning down of a gurdwara on November 1-2, 1984. His appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.
More than 2,700 members of the Sikh community were killed in four days of violence in Delhi in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. To date, of the 587 FIRs registered in Delhi, just 28 cases have ended in convictions. Thirteen of these convictions have been in murder cases.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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