Respected Supreme Court on Thursday appointed the former Delhi High Court judge, who has been a Judge in Afzal guru case, Justice S.N. Dhingra, as chairman of its Special Investigation Team (SIT), to further investigate 186 cases in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be headed by the Former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra, that will probe 186 cases in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, that were earlier recommended for closure by a government-appointed SIT. A Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud, on Thursday cleared Justice Dhingra’s name to head the three-member team which will also comprise Abhishek Dular, a serving 2006 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, and retired IG rank officer Rajdeep Singh. They directed the SIT to file a status report in two months and adjourned the case to March 19. Several Congress leaders were accused of taking part in the riots or inciting them.
Large-scale riots broke out in the national capital in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two Sikh security guards on the morning of October 31, 1984. The violence had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, had yesterday said “we have perused the report of the Supervisory Committee. On perusal of the same, we find that the SIT has not done further investigation in respect of 186 cases.” It had said that with regard to the nature of cases, “it would be appropriate that a fresh SIT should be constituted for carrying on the further investigation”.
The riots had taken 2,733 lives in Delhi alone, And a total of 3,325 people were killed in the 1984 riots.
Earlier, on March 24, 2017,The apex court had asked the Centre to place before it the files pertaining to the 199 anti-Sikh riots cases which the SIT set up earlier by the Home Ministry had decided to close. Charge sheets had been filed in only four cases and that there was an inordinate delay in the probe, told phoolka to the court on Wednesday.
