1984 anti-Sikh riots: HC refuses to condone nearly 28 years delay in filing appeal against acquittal

The Delhi high court has refused to condone a delay of nearly 28 years by the state in filing an appeal against the acquittal of several accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying there was no “justifiable” explanation for it. The accused persons were set free by a trial court here in 1995

New Delhi: The Delhi high court has refused to condone a delay of nearly 28 years by the state in filing an appeal against the acquittal of several accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying there was no “justifiable” explanation for it. The accused persons were set free by a trial court here in 1995.

The Delhi high court has refused to condone a delay of nearly 28 years by the state in filing an appeal against the acquittal of several accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying there was no “justifiable” explanation for it. The accused persons were set free by a trial court here in 1995.

The state submitted the two-member special investigation team (SIT) constituted following a Supreme Court order to look into the riots cases, which were closed for lack of evidence or due to shoddy investigation, recommended in 2019 that an appeal may be filed against the 1995 order of acquittal.

It said the appeal could not be finalised promptly due to the Covid pandemic, resulting in further delay, and now the leave to appeal has been filed along with the application for condonation of delay of 27 years and 335 days.

The high court, however, said there was no merit in the application for condonation of delay and dismissed it.

“No reason whatsoever has been given for explaining the delay of about 28 years. Pertinently, the report was given by SIT on April 15, 2019, but even thereafter there is a delay of about four years for which no cogent explanation has been given.

“This court has recently dismissed three criminal leave appeals… where the delay was less than 1000 days,” a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.

The bench said the grounds cited by the state for the “inordinate delay were not justifiable”.

Initially, an FIR was registered in 1991 for the offences of rioting, attempt to murder, mischief by fire with an intent to destroy house under the IPC at Saraswati Vihar police station with regard to incidents of rioting, looting and killing of Sikhs in Delhi which took place between October 31, 1984, and November 3, 1984.

The anti-Sikh riots had broken following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. She was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Charges were framed and the accused were acquitted after trial by a sessions court on March 28, 1995.

The high court noted in its order it is not in dispute that the accused were acquitted as the witnesses produced during the evidence by the prosecution were not found believable and, if the prosecution or the complainant were aggrieved by the judgment of acquittal, there was nothing which prevented them from filing the appeal.

“The reason now being given for filing the appeal is the opinion given by SIT in its report that the trial court could not have taken a view of weakness of the case merely due to delay in recording of FIR or delay in recording the statements of the witnesses.

“The delay in recording of FIR was obvious as the State was not interested in recording the FIRs. During the riots more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed and only few cases were registered in respect of these gruesome murders, large scale burning and looting,” the bench said.