SC rejects former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's bail plea in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

In a big development on Friday, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SA Bobde, AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian rejected the bail petition of former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. In December 2018, Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Appearing for the former Lok Sabha MP, senior advocate Vikas Singh argued that bail should be granted on medical grounds. According to Singh, Sajjan Kumar 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. Additionally, Singh requested the bail plea on merits, contending that the HC verdict is faulty. Observing that is not a "small case", the CJI made it clear that bail will not be considered at this stage. The bench also refused his hospitalization taking into account the medical reports. At the same time, the apex court hinted at the possibility of Kumar's appeal against his conviction being heard after the commencement of physical hearings. Kumar was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980, 1991, and 2004 on a Congress ticket. 

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Sajjan Kumar's conviction 

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, anti-Sikh riots broke out in the national capital. The Central Bureau of Investigation 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. 

Reversing his acquittal, the Delhi HC held Sajjan Kumar held him guilty of murder, promoting enmity between groups and defiling public property. After his conviction, he resigned from the Congress party. Post his surrender before a trial court on December 31, 2018, the former Lok Sabha MP was sent to Tihar Jail.  

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