SC seeks Centre’s response on 84 riots probe

HT Correspondent

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to apprise it within two weeks the status of the probe by the special investigation team that was set up in February 2015 to examine afresh the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases closed by the police for lack of sufficient evidence.

A three-judge bench headed by chief justice TS THakur asked additional solicitor general Pinky Anand to come back with a response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one S Gurland Singh Kahlon.

The court, however, refrained from issuing any formal notice and told the petitioner’s counsel Rupinder Singh Suri that he expected things to be done in six months in a case after a lapse of three decades.

Suri told the court that the SIT was set up on February 12, 2015 and was given six months to complete the probe. But on August 12, 2015, it was given an extension of one year. He contended that in many cases neither the victims nor witnesses were there and even the police officials who were engaged in the investigation too were not there.

Kahlon, a member of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, contended that since there was already a delay in taking these cases to their logical conclusion, any further delay would prejudice the fair trial.

The petitioner said justice has been denied to 3000 victims of the anti-Sikh riots due to shoddy investigation, inordinate delay in recording statements coupled with lack of will. The riots had claimed 2733 lives of innocent people in NCR alone.