London: The Delhi High Court Monday sentenced Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in a case pertaining to the killing of five members of a Sikh family during the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) commenting on Sajjan Kumar being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment said:
“Whilst we welcome the long overdue decision of the Delhi High Court to convict and sentence Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for his involvement in the Genocide of Sikhs this is too little too late.”
“Sajjan Kumar has been roaming the streets of Delhi for more than 34 years watched by the thousands of Sikh families that lost loved ones.”
“The Indian judicial system has failed the Sikh victims and is corrupt to the core. We expect Sajjan Kumar to appeal and at best it will not be a surprise if he gets a reduced sentence and will probably be released after a short time in prison.”
“Some will find it very strange that although he has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment he remains a free man. He has been told to surrender before the court on or before 31 December and only directed not to leave the national capital. This could only happen in India.”
“The 207-page judgment points out the many deficiencies that made it almost impossible to proceed due to ‘ongoing large-scale efforts to suppress the cases” by failing to record, register and properly investigate to a logical end.”
“The judgement concludes the mass killings of Sikhs between 1st and 4th November 1984 in Delhi and the rest of the country, engineered by political actors with the assistance of the law enforcement agencies, answer the description of crimes against humanity.”
He Said that the criminals responsible for the mass crimes have enjoyed political patronage and managed to evade prosecution and punishment. Bringing such criminals to justice poses a serious challenge to our legal system. Decades pass by before they can be made answerable. This calls for strengthening the legal system. Neither crimes against humanity nor genocide is part of our domestic law of crime.