New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday (January 22) acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the alleged instigation of violence during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court acquitted Kumar after noting that the prosecution had failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.Shortly after the verdict, senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, who has been fighting for justice for the 1984 riot victims for decades, said that the court’s order will be challenged in the Delhi high court, reported The Tribune. Phoolka also accused the Congress of conspiring and deliberately prolonging proceedings to benefit the accused.According to Phoolka, repeated delays ensured that witnesses either died or were rendered incapable of testifying, undermining the prospects of justice in riot cases involving influential political figures.Special Judge Singh, while acknowledging the prolonged suffering of riot victims and their families, said that legal proof cannot be substituted by emotional considerations. The court added that decisions in criminal trials have to be guided by evidence, not sentiment, regardless of the gravity of the crime or the time elapsed.The case against Kumar rose from allegations of arson, looting and targeted violence against the Sikh community in West Delhi’s Janakpuri area. According to the FIR registered several years after the incident, Kumar was charged under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, attempt to murder, rioting with deadly weapons, promoting enmity between groups, defiling a place of worship and dacoity, reported The Tribune.In its submission to the court, the prosecution had said that Kumar led an unlawful assembly that attacked Sikh homes and religious sites, including a gurdwara.However, the court expressed serious reservations about the reliability of delayed witness statements, noting that unexplained silence over long periods weakened the prosecution case.Kumar continues to be lodged in the Tihar Jail, serving two life sentences awarded in other 1984 riot cases.