The attack on Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar, 78, in September last year brought one of the most controversial events in recent Indian history back into the headlines.
The storming of the Golden Temple, codenamed Operation Blue Star, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.
They had been demanding an independent homeland - called Khalistan - in the Punjab.
The army's operation outraged Sikhs around the world, who accused the troops of desecrating the faith's holiest shrine.
According to the Indian government, about 400 people were killed, including 87 soldiers.
But Sikh groups dispute this figure. They say thousands died, including a large number of pilgrims who were there for an important Sikh festival, the anniversary of the death of their fifth guru, Arjan Dev Ji.
Parts of the temple were damaged during the fighting and Sikhs felt it was an attack on their religion.
Operation Blue Star led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her Sikh bodyguards in revenge.
Almost three decades later a group of Sikhs saw an opportunity to take revenge on Lt Gen Brar, who was in London on holiday with his wife Meena, a visit the couple regularly made, astonishingly without any security.
Lt Gen Brar told the court - by video-link from India - there had been many attempts on his life since 1984 and several extremist Sikh websites had had him listed as their number one target.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court were told by Lt Gen Brar: "[Operation Blue Star] wasn't carried out against the Sikh community but against militants who had been carrying out a lot of killings."
He said they had given the militants lots of warnings but when they had failed to respond, they had had no other option but to go into the temple.
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