Court Orders Framing Of Charges Against Congress Leader Sajjan Kumar In Anti-Sikh Riots Case

A Delhi court has ordered framing of charges against former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the killing of a father and son in the Raj Nagar area of west Delhi by a mob allegedly led by him.

Special judge MK Nagpal said that a prima facie case was made out against the accused for framing of charge against him for the commission of various offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the prosecution, the case relates to the killing of one S Jaswant Singh and his son, S Tarun Deep Singh, residing in the area of Raj Nagar in West Delhi by a mob consisting of several thousand persons on November 1, 1984.

The prosecution has alleged that Mr Kumar was leading the mob and upon his instigation and abetment, they burnt the victims alive.

The mob had also damaged, destroyed, and looted victims' household articles and other property, burnt their house, and also inflicted injuries on their family members and relatives residing in their house, it alleged.

The court said that the oral and documentary evidence collected by the investigating officers during the investigation of the case was sufficient to form a “prima facie” opinion and put Mr Kumar on trial.

“There is sufficient material on record for this court to form a 'prima facie' opinion that the accused was not only a participant of the said mob but also leading it,” the court held.

It held that the allegations and material brought on record gave rise to a grave suspicion against the accused about his involvement in the commission of the alleged offences and not a mere suspicion regarding his involvement in the said incident.

In its order of December 4, the court ordered framing of various offences punishable under IPC, including murder (302), rioting (147), and dacoity (395).

The court, however, said that there was no sufficient or prima facie material on record to show the offence of destruction of evidence (201 IPC) or attempt to murder (307 IPC) was made out against Mr Kumar.

It, instead, ordered framing of charge under section 308 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC.

The court will formally frame the charges on December 16.

If convicted, Mr Kumar may get a maximum death penalty in the case.

Mr Kumar is currently lodged in city jail after his conviction in another murder case related to the riots.

The FIR in the case was registered on September 9, 1985, based on an affidavit by the complainant.

During the investigation, the police filed a final report before a magistrate court and the case was directed to be sent as untraced (case in which a closure report is filed) in 1994 as the court held that evidence collected by the investigating officer was not sufficient to initiate prosecution against any particular person.

In 2015, a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the central government to reinvestigate the cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, decided to reopen the case.

The SIT was formed, the team re-examined 293 cases that were closed by the Delhi police.

Of the 293 cases, the team filed closure reports in 233 cases, citing lack of evidence.

In 52 cases, the team filed reports in which the victims or the accused were not traced and started a probe in eight cases. Of the eight cases, the police filed a charge sheet in five, and Mr Kumar was named an accused in three cases.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)