LG approves appeal against HC clean chit to six in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

Slamming the prosecution department for delay, lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday gave his go-ahead for the for filing of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the Delhi high court’s July judgment, in which six accused in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were acquitted.

The case pertains to attempt to murder, looting and rioting during the riots in Saraswati Vihar Police Station (now Subhash Place) area in northwest Delhi, officials said.

The accused, who were acquitted by the Delhi high court on July 10 this year, are Hari Lal, Mangal, Dharampal, Azad, Om Prakash and Abdul Habib.

A senior official of LG secretariat said that Saxena approved the proposal of the Delhi government’s home department for filing of the SLP in the apex court. “While acquitting the accused, the high court had dismissed the Delhi government’s appeal against the trial court’s verdict, acquitting all the accused. The HC had said that there was no explanation for inordinate delay of 28 years in filing the appeal against the trial court verdict of March 28, 1995 and grounds taken by the state were not justifiable,” the official said, asking not to be named. The trial court had acquitted the six accused in the case on ground of inadequate substantial evidence.

In a similar case, the LG earlier accorded approval for filing an SLP in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of 12 people in another case lodged in connection with the 1984 riots at Nangloi police station.

In the present case, the LG observed that it is a matter of grave concern that though an approval for filing the appeal before the HC against the trial court order was accorded in December 2020, the appeal was filed in March 2023, after a delay of more than two years, the official said.

“Saxena observed that it is a matter of grave concern that such cases of crime against humanity are dealt with in a very casual and routine manner, leading to inordinate delay in filing of an appeal. He categorically told the officials that inordinate delays in such cases should be viewed seriously and stringent action needs to be taken against the delinquent officials. He also directed the home department to identify and fix responsibility of erring officials responsible for causing delay in filing appeal before Delhi HC in this case, and submit the report positively within seven days,” said the official.

Another official aware of the matter said that a special investigation team (SIT), formed on the orders of the Supreme Court in connection with the 186 cases related to the riots, had in its report dated April 15, 2019 stated that the present case “was a fit case where prosecution should have gone in appeal immediately after the judgment”. “The SIT further recommended that an appeal with an application of condonation of delay may be filed,” the official said.