New Delhi: The prosecution on Tuesday sought death penalty for former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, calling it a "rarest of rare" crime. Special judge Kaveri Baweja was informed on the contention in a written submission filed by the prosecution.

The minimum punishment for murder is life imprisonment. The judge deferred the matter to February 21 after Kumar's counsel sought time to argue the matter, saying lawyers were abstaining from work on Tuesday in protest of the Advocate Amendment Bill, 2025. Complainant's counsel senior advocate H S Phoolka supported the prosecution's demand for death penalty and sought time to argue. Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh were killed on November 1, 1984. Though Punjabi Bagh Police Station registered the case, a special investigation team later took over the investigation. On December 16, 2021, the court framed charges against Kumar, finding a "prima facie" case against him. The prosecution has alleged a huge mob, armed with deadly weapons, resorted to large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs to avenge the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.