Sirsa moves HC to produce police report on Kamal Nath’s role in 1984 riots case

Application seeks production of ACP Gautam Kaul’s report and deposition of then GOC JS Jambwal to assess Nath’s presence during the killings of two men at Rakab Ganj Sahib.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice on an application filed by Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa seeking production of a police officer’s report that had allegedly recorded the presence of Congress leader Kamal Nath during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital.

Sirsa asks for production of ACP Gautam Kaul’s report and military deposition to clarify Nath’s role; HC earlier sought a status report in 2022 but documents remain unfiled. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The case relates to the killing of two Sikh men – Inderjeet Singh and Manmohan Singh – burnt alive inside Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib on November 1, 1984.

A bench of Justice Ravinder Dudeja sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police and fixed January 15 as the next date of hearing.

Sirsa has moved the court for further investigation into an FIR registered at Parliament Street police station and for proceedings to be initiated against Nath.

The petition argued that while the mob responsible for the killings was led by Nath, the FIR named only five individuals – all of whom were acquitted by a trial court in March 1991. Nath was not named in the FIR or tried in the case. The high court had earlier issued notice in the matter in January 2022 and directed the filing of a status report.

In his new application, Sirsa contends that Nath’s presence at the gurdwara during the violence was acknowledged in police records, particularly in a report submitted at the time by then additional commissioner of police Gautam Kaul to the police commissioner. According to the application, this report “categorically showed” Nath at the spot, but was never examined in earlier proceedings.

“It is submitted that Mr Gautam Kaul reached Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib with police personnel at the relevant time, and he endorsed the presence of Kamal Nath at the site,” the application said, arguing that the report’s production is essential to determine his role.

Sirsa has also sought the court’s direction for placing on record Kaul’s report along with the deposition of then GOC Delhi, JS Jambwal, who visited the gurdwara the same day. Both documents, the application states, would help establish whether Nath was present at the scene of the crime and clarify his alleged role in the incident.