New Delhi: A city court is likely to deliver its verdict on January 21 in in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against former Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Sajjan Kumar.
The case is related to the alleged killings of two people in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar area during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which erupted following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, who was scheduled to pass the verdict on Wednesday, deferred the pronouncement.
“January 21 is the next date,” the special judge said, news agency PTI reported.
Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar Jail serving life sentence in another 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
Kumar, who is currently lodged in Tihar central Jail serving life sentence awarded to him in another 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, appeared before the court online.
Court earlier reserved its verdict
The court had earlier had reserved its verdict after hearing the final arguments in the case that is related to the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984.
The investigation of the case, which was initially registered by the Punjabi Bagh police station, was subsequently taken over by a special investigation team.
Court framed charges against Kumar in December 2021
The trial court had framed charges against the former MP on December 16, 2021, saying that there was a “prima facie” case against him. The court put him on trial in the case after it found sufficient material to form a “prima facie opinion that he was not only a participant, but had also led the mob”.
What is the case of the prosecution?
According to the prosecution, a huge mob armed with deadly weapons resorted to large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs to avenge the assassination of former prime minister Indira by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. The mob attacked the house of the complainant, wife of deceased Jaswant Singh, and killed her husband and her son and looted articles and set their house ablaze.