New Delhi: The once-influential Sajjan Kumar, who won from Outer Delhi, then the city’s biggest Parliamentary constituency, has left behind a string of cases that will now abate following his death.Three-time Congress MP from Outer Delhi, Kumar, who was close to Sanjay Gandhi and held political influence over large parts of the city, was serving a life sentence after his conviction in two cases stemming from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. He resigned from Congress in Dec 2018, after his conviction.Kumar’s appeal against the 2018 conviction and sentencing was to be heard Thursday. His counsel Anuj Kumar Sharma had forwarded a plea seeking relief, citing his old age and his wife’s deteriorating medical condition.Senior Advocate H S Phoolka, who spent a better part of his career litigating the 1984 riots cases, posted on X, “Today his parole was listed in SC and we all were waiting for the matter…”Reports and cases against Kumar spanned more than four decades, producing both convictions and acquittals. In the Raj Nagar case concerning the killings of five Sikhs and burning of a gurdwara in Palam Colony, on Nov 1 and 2, 1984, Kumar’s name did not initially figure among the accused. Delhi HC later noted the “utter failure” to register separate FIRs for the five deaths.The Justice Nanavati Commission, constituted in May 2000 to probe the violence and its aftermath, submitted its report in 2005. It recorded 587 FIRs in Delhi relating to the riots, in which 2,733 people were killed. About 240 FIRs were closed by police as “untraced”, while 250 cases ended in acquittal. Following discussions in Parliament, the Union home ministry entrusted relevant cases to the CBI in Oct 2005, for further investigation/re-investigation, 21 years after the violence.The CBI sent six accused, including Kumar, for trial in 2010. The trial court found sufficient grounds to presume that the violence had followed provocative speeches allegedly made by Kumar to a mob in Sultanpuri, resulting in robbery, burning of properties and killings, including that of Surjeet Singh.In 2013, a Karkardooma Court convicted five accused but acquitted Kumar, citing inconsistencies in the testimony of key witness Jagdish Kaur. The court noted that her earlier statement before the Nanavati Commission did not name Kumar and observed that his name had “popped up from nowhere” 2007.CBI challenged the acquittal. The appeal, which was heard more than 100 times, culminated in a Dec 2018 judgment that overturned Kumar’s acquittal and sentenced him to life imprisonment.The court held that Kumar was the leader of the mob and had “actively abetted the commission of crimes by his repeated exhortations to the mob”, besides delivering “fiery/provocative speeches” instigating violence against Sikhs. It attributed the long evasion of justice to the “political patronage” enjoyed by the perpetrators.In 2020, Kumar sought interim bail and hospitalisation, citing poor health. A three-judge bench headed by then CJI S A Bobde rejected the plea, observing: “This is not a small case. Cannot grant you bail.”Kumar later faced another case over the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Saraswati Vihar. Though Judge M K Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court granted him bail in April 2022, citing “different versions of the incident narrated by the complainant”, the Delhi High Court stayed the order in July. In Feb 2025, Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja convicted Kumar and sentenced him to a second life term, sparing him the death penalty in view of his old age, ailments and conduct in prison.Earlier this year Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court acquitted Kumar in the Janakpuri-Vikaspuri riot case, finding “no evidence of instigating any such mob” or “of conspiracy”. Kumar had also been acquitted in four other Sultanpuri cases, with two appeals pending before the High Court.If needed:Of the 587 FIRs registered, only 28 cases resulted in convictions, involving about 400 persons. About 50 were convicted for murder, including Kumar.A businessman – Kumar owned a bakery – he was first elected as a councillor in 1977. He went on to win from Outer Delhi in 1980, 1991 and 2004. The constituency was abolished in 2008 after delimitation.
