- By Talibuddin Khan
- Thu, 20 Aug 2026 03:02 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Sajjan Kumar was convicted in 2018 for the murder of five Sikh men during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.
- He was also convicted in another murder case involving a father-son duo in 2025, with the court handing him life imprisonment.
- Sajjan Kumar emerged as one of the most prominent Congress leaders in the 90s and was elected thrice to Lok Sabha.
Sajjan Kumar Death News: Ex-Congress MP and convict in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots case, Sajjan Kumar, passed away on Thursday. According to the hospital authorities, the 80-year-old leader was brought dead to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. He was serving a life sentence in Delhi's Tihar jail.
His son, Jag Parvesh Kumar, has reached Safdarjung Hospital after receiving reports of his death. The hospital has not yet clarified the cause of his death.
#WATCH | Delhi | Jag Parvesh Kumar (in a kurta), son of the late Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar, arrives at Safdarjung Hospital pic.twitter.com/bb5KBMkqZd
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2026
Kumar had been involved in one of the most prolonged and consequential legal battles in India, the 1984 anti Sikh riots cases that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. For over three decades, Kumar faced multiple criminal cases relating to the violence, with outcomes that swung between acquittals and convictions across different courts.
Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018, in a case related to the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the riots.
In 2025, he was convicted in another murder case involving a Sikh father-son duo during the riots, with the court handing him life imprisonment.
Earlier this year, in January, a Delhi court acquitted Kumar in two separate cases concerning allegations that he had incited violence in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas during the 1984 riots. However, the acquittals did not result in his release, as Kumar continued to serve life sentences in other cases connected with the violence.
ALSO READ: Anti-Sikh Riots 1984: Ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar Acquitted In Janakpuri, Vikaspuri Violence Case
Sajjan Kumar was one of the most prominent leaders of Congress during the Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh governments and was considered a fierce loyalist of Sanjay Gandhi. A three-time Lok Sabha MP, Sajjan Kumar represented the Outer Delhi constituency. He resigned from Congress in 2018 following his conviction in the anti-Sikh riots case.