1984 anti-Sikh riots case: SC rejects Sajjan Kumar's plea for quashing murder charges against him

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea by Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to drop murder charges against him in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Court asked Kumar to face trial in the deaths of six people in Sultanpuri in Delhi, during the riots that followed the October 31, 1984 assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.

Apex court bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik declined the appeal even as senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi told the court that Sajjan Kumar could not be charged under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code as there is no direct allegation of killing against him.

Opposing the plea, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for the riot victims, said that the rioting in the Sultanpuri area of the national capital was at Sajjan Kumar's behest.

Dave said that it was Sajjan Kumar who provoked and led the rioters following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

67-years-old Sajjan Kumar has been accused of murder, rioting and promoting hatred between communities which allegedly led to Sultanpuri. He was a Congress Member of Parliament at that time.

At least 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots.

In May this year, the Delhi High Court had reserved its judgment on Kumar. The court then heard the arguments of both sides. Riot victims' lawyer H.S. Phoolka then argued that criminal conspiracy be also added to the existing charges.

Earlier, Kumar had been acquitted of all charges in another case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

District and Sessions Judge J.R. Aryan acquitted Sajjan while convicting five others - Balwan Khokkar, an ex-councillor, Mahender Yadav, an ex-MLA, Kishan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal - for their involvement in the case.

Sajjan still faces trial in another 1984 rioting case. In a third case, Delhi Police has filed a closure report, saying there was no evidence against Kumar to implicate him.

The case, in which these five persons were held guilty, deals with the death of five Sikhs - Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh - who were members of the same family and were killed by the mob in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar area.

(with inputs from IANS and ANI)