Today, On 6th January, The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing of Sajjan Kumar’s appeal in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case for July. The court clarified that if the final hearing faces delays, it will consider suspending his sentence. Kumar, a former Congress leader, was convicted in 2018 for his role in the riots. The case remains one of the most significant legal battles linked to the tragic events of 1984.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court scheduled the final hearing for the appeals filed by former Congress leaders Balwan Kokhar and Sajjan Kumar, both currently serving life sentences for their involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, for July 2025.
Kokhar, a former Congress councillor, and Kumar were convicted following the riots that erupted after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
A Bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Aravind Kumar stated,
“If the final hearing cannot take place as scheduled, the petitioners would be at liberty to request the Court to consider their prayer for suspension of sentence.”
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while the petitioners’ counsel raised concerns regarding the health of one of the convicts, noting that one petitioner is handicapped.
Justice Maheshwari remarked,
“We are aware of parole not being granted and we also know all the facts.”
The Court then ordered that trial court records be reviewed and set the matter for a final hearing in July 2025.
On July 15, 2024, the Supreme Court had requested a response from the CBI regarding Balwan Khokhar’s plea for furlough, who is also serving life imprisonment in connection with the riots.
Previously, in May 2020, the Supreme Court had denied Sajjan Kumar interim bail or parole on health grounds. Both Kumar and Khokhar are currently incarcerated in Tihar jail following their convictions by the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018.
The High Court upheld Khokhar’s life sentence while seta siding Kumar’s earlier acquittal by the trial court in 2013. This case centers around the killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar Part-I in Palam Colony on November 1-2, 1984, and the destruction of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part-II.
The anti-Sikh riots followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her Sikh bodyguards. The High Court also confirmed the convictions and varying sentences for retired naval officer Captain Bhagmal, Girdhari Lal, and former MLAs Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokhar, who were involved in a conspiracy to attack Sikh families and a gurdwara during the riots.
The trial court had sentenced Khokhar, Bhagmal, and Lal to life imprisonment, while Yadav and Kishan Khokhar received three-year prison terms, later increased to 10 years following the High Court’s decision.
Case Title
Sajjan Kumar v. State; Balwan Khokhar v. Central Bureau of Investigation [Crl.A. No. 1642/2018 & Crl.A. No. 1665-1666/2019]