Who Was Sajjan Kumar? Former Congress MP Dies While Serving Life Sentence

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar dies at 80 while serving a life sentence in cases linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

By Pranjal Gupta

New Delhi, August 20: Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted for the murder of five Sikh men during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at a Delhi hospital on Thursday. He was 80.

Kumar, who was serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated. Doctors declared him brought dead. The hospital has not yet stated the cause of his death.

Kumar served as a three-term Lok Sabha MP from the Outer Delhi constituency and was once a prominent Congress leader. He resigned from the party after the Delhi High Court convicted him in 2018.

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots broke out after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, on October 31, 1984.

Following the assassination, armed mobs attacked Sikh homes, shops and places of worship in several parts of Delhi and other parts of the country. More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed across India, with Delhi witnessing the largest share of the violence.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was serving a life sentence in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at 80.

Conviction in 1984 riots case

Kumar faced several criminal cases linked to the 1984 violence over the following decades. Courts delivered mixed verdicts in different cases, with Kumar facing both acquittals and convictions.

In December 2018, the Delhi High Court overturned a trial court's 2013 decision to acquit Kumar in a case involving the killing of five Sikh men in Raj Nagar Part-I in Palam Colony.

The High Court convicted Kumar of criminal conspiracy and abetment and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The case also involved the burning of a gurdwara during the violence.

The court directed that Kumar remain in prison for the rest of his natural life. In its judgment, it described the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as "crimes against humanity".

Kumar challenged the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court, where his appeal remained pending at the time of his death.

Other cases linked to 1984 riots

Kumar continued to face other cases related to the 1984 violence even after his 2018 conviction.

In January this year, a Delhi court acquitted him in two separate cases involving allegations that he had incited violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas during the riots.

However, the acquittals did not lead to his release because he was serving life sentences in other cases connected to the violence.

In February 2025, the Rouse Avenue Court sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment in another 1984 riots case from Saraswati Vihar.

The court convicted him over his alleged involvement in a mob attack in which a father and son, Jaswant Singh and Tarundeep Singh, were allegedly burned alive.

The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Kumar. The court instead awarded him life imprisonment, taking into account factors including his advanced age and health.

Kumar's death brings to an end the life of a former parliamentarian whose political career remained closely linked to one of the darkest chapters in India's recent history. However, his legal record continued to be contested, with some cases ending in acquittal and others resulting in convictions.