Apex court may reopen ’84 riot cases

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday constituted a supervisory panel of two of its retired judges to scrutinise 241 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

These cases had been closed by the SIT that the NDA government set up in 2015 to reinvestigate the riots that killed about 3,000 people after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Most of the people were murdered in New Delhi.

A top court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said the panel will submit its report within three months, and fixed November 28 for the next hearing. The names of the two judges were not disclosed.

Justice Misra said the names would be included in the formal order. Wednesday’s order came on a petition filed by Gurnad Singh Kahlon.

The bench also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on another petition filed by victims of anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur, who have sought an SIT probe into the murder of more than 125 people there.

Their counsel was asked to hand a copy of the petition to Uttar Pradesh additional advocate general Aishwarya Bhati and the court fixed September 21 to hear the case.

The SIT has closed 240 of the 293 cases it took up for reinvestigation. The cases were chosen after the team scrutinised 630 cases registered by police in connection with the riots.

It’s a welcome step as it is for the first time that the apex court has intervened in 1984 antiSikh riot cases. The SC finally wants justice to be delivered.