The complainant, Jaswant’s wife, along with the prosecution, had requested the harshest punishment in India– the death penalty– for Kumarread moreSajjan Kumar has been given a life imprisonment sentence in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Kumar is a former Member of Parliament and used to belong to the Congress party.Special Judge Kaveri Baweja delivered the judgment regarding the alleged murders of Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, which occurred on November 1, 1984.The complainant, Jaswant’s wife, along with the prosecution, had requested the harshest punishment in India– the death penalty– for Kumar.AdvertisementThe prosecution had alleged that a large mob, armed with deadly weapons, engaged in widespread looting, arson, and destruction of properties belonging to Sikhs in retaliation for the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.According to the prosecution, the mob targeted the home of the victim, killing the men inside, looting valuables, and setting their house on fire.Calling it a “rarest of rare” case, Jaswant’s wife’s lawyers argued that Kumar’s actions amounted to “mass genocide” of a particular community.Why was Sajjan Kumar not given death penalty?Murder is a crime that carries a maximum punishment of death and a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.Kumar, currently lodged in Tihar jail, is already serving life after being convicted by the Delhi High Court for five murders in Delhi Cantonment’s Raj Nagar area in a separate case, albeit one related to the 1984 riots.Kumar’s old age– he is almost 80 years old now– and show of good conduct while behind bars since 2018 were cited as arguments for not giving him the death penalty.Some members of the Sikh community on Tuesday protested outside the court premises demanding the death penalty for Kumar. “Four decades have passed now, and it is the judiciary’s phrase that justice delayed is justice denied. We demand only the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar,” said Gurlad Singh, who was leading the protest.AdvertisementWith inputs from PTIMore from India
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Anti-Sikh riots case: Sajjan Kumar to spend life in jail, rules Delhi court