HC pulls up prosecuting agencies in '84 riots cases

The Delhi High Court today pulled up CBI and other prosecuting agencies for being "insensitive" in handling the 1984 riots cases as routine ones and suggested appointment of a special public prosecutor to speedily pursue the matter on the line of Gujarat riots cases.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up CBI and other prosecuting agencies for being "insensitive" in handling the 1984 riots cases as routine ones and suggested appointment of a special public prosecutor to speedily pursue the matter on the line of Gujarat riots cases.

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"You should respect the sentiments of sufferers, you tell your director to appoint a senior lawyer as a public
prosecutor to handle the cases. This is the legitimate demand.

Don't treat these cases as routine cases," a Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said.

"See the historical background and sensitivity involved in these cases. Don't you think like Gujarat riots cases,
Special Public Prosecutor be appointed to handle these cases," the court said, asking the agencies not to be insensitive.

The Gujarat Legal Department had last year appointed special public prosecutors for seven Gujarat riot cases.

The court made these observations while hearing a PIL filed by an NGO 'November-84 Carnage Justice Committee'
seeking its direction to appoint special law officers and to monitor the cases on a day-to-day basis.

The court asked the agencies to respect the feeling of a particular community which bore the brunt of the riots
following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.

"These cases have ramifications, try to understand the sentiments of a particular community. It does not matter what
the number of cases are," the court said.

Over 2500 people were killed in the riots.