Anti-Sikh riots: Apex court sets up probe panel

The Supreme Court today constituted a Supervisory Committee of two retired judges to verify the correctness of the decision taken by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to close 241 cases relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar passed the order today.

As per reports, the SCI was informed in March that curtains are down on the judicial drama pertaining the 199 cases on the pretext of trail had gone cold that means it is hard to investigate a 32 years old case properly, and that the impression of investigation was on in another 59 cases.

The Court directed the next hearing on the matter to be held November 28, 2017.

The bench ordered the same documents be given to the supervisory committee and ordered the Center to extend all secretarial facilities to the supervisory committee.

Senior Counsel H S Phoolka, who represented the petitioners in the Delhi cases, told the court that "though the SIT's mandate was all-India, but unfortunately they restricted themselves to Delhi..." Investigation was on in another 59 cases.

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The apex court had on March 24 asked the Centre to place before it the files pertaining to the 199 cases of the anti- Sikh riots which the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Home Ministry had made a decision to "close".

The court order to appoint a supervisory committee comprising two former Supreme Court judges came following a 2016 petition by S. Gurlad Singh Kahlon - a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee.

The court was told that of the 250 cases that were investigated by the SIT, the closure report was filed in 241 cases.

He further contended that the SIT was given six months to complete its mandate and, on August 12, 2015, was given an extension of one year.

A total of 3,325 people were killed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and other states in the riots after Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

This matter will be heard September 22, 2017.