1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar denied bail by Supreme Court

In a significant development, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict, Sajjan Kumar, was denied interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday. Kumar had sought bail on medical grounds. 

India's apex court noted that Kumar had no major health concerns, and instead, his medical condition was stable and is improving. The judgment was passed by a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh. 

Justice Kaul said that Sajjan Kumar is accused of 'heinous crimes' and cannot be treated like "some super VIP patient."  

Supreme Court seeks report on Sajjan Kumar's health

On 24 August, the Supreme Court had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the medical condition of former Congress leader and convict Sajjan Kumar after he sought bail on health grounds. A bench of the apex court comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy asked the central agency to file its affidavit by 6 September and adjourned the case. Kumar was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980, 1991, and 2004 on a Congress ticket. 

1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Court proceedings on Sajjan Kumar

Earlier on 4 September 2020, the Supreme Court had turned down the former Congress MP's bail petition with the then CJI SA Bobde observing that this was not a "small case". Appearing for Kumar back then, senior advocate Vikas Singh had pressed for bail on medical grounds citing that his client had lost a lot of weight during his stint in jail and needed to recover from ailments. However, the riot victims' lawyer HS Phoolka opposed the plea, mentioning that the former Congress leader was already receiving the necessary treatment.

Making it clear that bail would not be considered at that stage, a three-judge bench of former CJI SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramnian refused his hospitalisation taking into account the medical reports. At the same time, the SC hinted at the possibility of Kumar's appeal against his conviction being heard after the commencement of physical hearings. 

Anti-Sikh riots: Sajjan Kumar's arrest

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, anti-Sikh riots broke out in the national capital. The CBI had accused Sajjan Kumar of killing Sikh men in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar Part-I area and burning down a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar Part-II. In 2013, the trial court refused to convict him solely on the basis of the eyewitness testimony of the complainant Jagdish Kaur who lost her husband, son, and three brothers in the riots.