The Delhi High Court has given the city government more time to respond to a plea by former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, who is serving a life sentence in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and is seeking release on furlough to reconnect with his family and community.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja also allowed Khokhar’s request to shift the hearing from February 4, 2026 to an earlier date. The matter will now be taken up on December 5, with the court directing the Delhi government and jail authorities to place their status reports on record before the next hearing.
“In the meantime, the state should place on record its reply,” the court said.
Khokhar has challenged a September 4 order of the jail authorities that denied him furlough on the ground that his release could disrupt public peace and order. He has urged the court to set aside that decision and direct his release for 21 days, which would be his first spell of furlough, to “re-establish social ties” with his family and society.
Furlough is a short, temporary release granted to long-term inmates who have served part of their sentence and maintained good conduct. It does not amount to suspension or remission of the sentence.
Khokhar, along with four others, was convicted in 2013 by a trial court for murder and rioting relating to the killing of five Sikh individuals and the torching of a gurdwara in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, also an accused in the case, was acquitted by the trial court. However, in December 2018, the Delhi High Court upheld Khokhar’s conviction and sentence while overturning Kumar’s acquittal.
Khokhar’s appeal against the 2018 verdict is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
