A Delhi court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a murder case connected to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying he was not handed the death sentence in view of his old age and illness.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja said the offences committed by Kumar, 80, were undoubtedly brutal and reprehensible. “But, at the same time, there are certain mitigating factors which weigh in favour of imposing a lesser sentence instead of the death penalty,” the judge said.

“The ‘satisfactory’ conduct of the convict as per the report of the jail authorities, the ailments from which he is reportedly suffering, the fact that the convict has roots in society and the possibility of his reformation and rehabilitation are material considerations which, in my opinion, tilt the scales in favour of a sentence for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty,” Judge Baweja said.

The case relates to the killing of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984. Kumar, who is serving life imprisonment in another riots case, was brought to the court from Tihar jail.

The complainant, Jaswant's wife, and the prosecution had sought the death penalty for Kumar. According to the complainant, Kumar was leading a mob and instigating it to commit violence, leading to the killing of her husband and son.

“Though the killings of two innocent persons in the present case are no less an offence, however, the above-noted circumstances, in my opinion, do not make this a ‘rarest of rare case’ warranting imposition of the death penalty for the offence punishable under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC,” the court said.

It also noted that the dictum of the Supreme Court was that the death penalty must be awarded only in the “rarest of rare cases” by considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

Kumar’s counsel cited his old age and various ailments while pleading for leniency. Referring to the jail report, the judge observed that Kumar was unable to carry out his daily routine properly owing to poor health. The judge took into account the psychiatric and psychological evaluation report of the convict, which revealed that he was under treatment under doctors of the department of medicine, urology and neurology at Safdarjung Hospital and had been prescribed anti-depressive and sleep medicines.

This was Kumar's second conviction in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Kumar is serving a life sentence after being convicted by Delhi High Court in another case in December 2018. His appeal against the high court order is pending in the Supreme Court.

Victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots said Kumar should have received a harsher punishment. The judge also fined Kumar approximately ₹2.4 lakh.

According to a report of the Nanavati Commission, constituted to probe the violence and its aftermath, 587 FIRs had been filed in Delhi in relation to the riots that saw the killing of 2,733 people. Of these, 240 FIRs were closed by the police as those named could not be traced and 250 cases resulted in acquittals.

Of the 587 FIRs, only 28 resulted in convictions, in which about 400 people were held guilty. Around 50 people, including the former MP, were convicted of murder.

Additional reporting by PTI