Delhi HC abates Sajjan Kumar’s appeal against conviction in 1984 riots case following his death

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar died on August 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI

Following the passing of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar last week, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday closed his pending appeal regarding his conviction in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Kumar, who was serving two life sentences in Tihar Jail in connection with cases arising from the riots, died on August 20. Recording the development, a Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Vikas Mahajan said: “In view thereof, the present appeal would abate”.

The case concerned the killings of Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh, at Saraswati Vihar on November 1, 1984. The anti-Sikh riots erupted in Delhi following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her Sikh bodyguards.

A Delhi trial court had convicted Kumar in the case on February 12, 2025, and sentenced him to life imprisonment on February 25, 2025. The court held that Kumar was part of a mob that set the victims’ house on fire, killed the two men and looted their belongings.

Earlier, on December 17, 2018, the Delhi High Court had sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment in another case relating to the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.