Delhi High Court convicts 70 in connection to Anti-Sikh riots 1984
“Justice R K Gauba dismissed their 22-year old appeals against conviction by a trial court and asked all the convicts to surrender forthwith to undergo the prison term”, PTI reported.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the former Punjab Deputy CM, tweeted in relation saying, “I join Sikh community in welcoming Delhi HC order upholding conviction of 88 Congress workers in #1984sikhgenocide. Victim families finally getting justice one after the other under NDA tenure. Now we await death penalty for genocide perpetrators Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar.”
About the Anti-Sikh riots :
The anti-Sikh riots of 1984, popularly known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised mistreats against Sikhs in India. The anti-Sikh mobs in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, urged to wipe out the Sikh community. Official Indian government reports numbered about 2,800 killed across India including 2,100 in Delhi. However, The First Information Report in this case says 95 people were killed and around 100 houses were set on fire in Trilokpuri alone.
The court in it’s judgment said: "The police forces, and the civil administration, did not take timely or effective action to prevent the riotous conditions from spiralling out of hand. The criminal law process began, but hesitatingly and belatedly. The fact that these cases have continued to linger in the courts at the stage of trial or appeals or revisions till date itself is an indicator of the reality that the response of the law has been tardy, ineffective and highly unsatisfactory."
Further the high court suggested saying, "The law on the subject of communal riots cannot be a complete answer to the challenge unless it also establishes special courts with suitable amendments to the general criminal law procedure as indeed the rules of evidence"
Sikh Community’s viewpoint :
The President of the Akhil Bharatiya Danga Pidit Raahat Committee, Kuldeep Singh Bhogal said, “It has been 34 years since the incident has taken place. We have been sincerely praying for these many years for the justice. We tried everything right from manifestations to pleading. Now it is the almighty that will do justice to us. We are the victims of those riots. We demand the two accused leaders, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler to be hanged in relation.”
“We are the direct victims of the riots happened 34 years back. It is as fresh as it happened yesterday. We were harassed and our family members were killed in front of us. We strongly demand justice and want the accused to be hanged till death.”, added one of the female casualty.
Who are Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler ? :
Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler are the most notable persons accused in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh. According to CBI, both the congress party leaders, organised anti-Sikh riots and he along with five others are being tried at court for killing six Sikh people. CBI stated that the trial court erred in acquitting Kumar as it was he who had instigated the mob during the riots after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.