1984 riots: SIT to have 2 members, apex court modifies earlier order

NEW DELHI : Modifying its earlier order, the Supreme Court Tuesday said the three-member special investigation team (SIT) set up to supervise the probe into 186 cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will now have two members only as one of those appointed has declined to be a part of it.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur passed the order as the Centre had earlier informed the court that one of three SIT members, retired IPS officer Rajdeep Singh, had declined to be a part of the team on “personal grounds”.

The apex court had on January 11 constituted SIT headed by former Delhi high court judge SN Dhingra with Singh and IPS officer Abhishek Dular as other members to supervise further probe into 186 riots cases, in which closure reports were filed earlier.

Large-scale riots had broken out in Delhi in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh guards on October 31, 1984.

The violence had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.

The Centre and the petitioner’s counsel had on Monday told the court that it may not be necessary to substitute Singh and the other two members should be asked to continue with their work.

During the brief hearing on Tuesday, additional solicitor general Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, said, “Let us have the two-member SIT and they should proceed”.

“The counsels for the parties are in agreement that order of January 11 may be modified in view of the fact that Rajdeep Singh, a retired IPS officer, had declined to be a member of the committee on personal grounds,” the Supreme Court bench said.