The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices in response to six Special Leave Petitions filed by the Delhi Police, challenging the acquittals of 14 individuals accused in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom cases.
“Issue notice. Registrar to provide the soft copy of the record of the trial court to the counsel appearing for parties. Parties to place on record a compilation of notes of evidence. Notice is made returnable on 21st of July”, the Court ordered.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order while hearing a 2016 writ petition filed by S. Gurlad Singh Kahlon, through which the Supreme Court had earlier directed the formation of the Justice S.N. Dhingra Committee.
The petitioner is now seeking the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations.
The Justice S.N. Dhingra Committee, constituted by the Supreme Court in 2018, submitted its report in January 2020, noting that investigations in several riot cases had been derailed and recommending, among other measures, the filing of appeals against acquittals.
However, the Delhi High Court dismissed these appeals, citing excessive delay, prompting the filing of the present six Special Leave Petitions challenging the High Court’s orders.
In an earlier hearing, the bench questioned whether senior counsel had been engaged in the previous matters and remarked that filing Special Leave Petitions would be futile unless pursued with genuine seriousness.
Senior Advocate H.S. Phoolka, representing the petitioner, argued that the appeals had been filed merely as a formality.
The Sikh genocide in New Delhi, India‘s bloodiest in modern times, followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. In the 10 days that followed Gandhi’s assassination, New Delhi witnessed horrific scenes of violence, burnings, and killings. Women were gang-raped and gurdwaras (Sikh temples), homes, and Sikh businesses were destroyed.
