Supreme Court refrained from passing any order on anti-Sikh riots

The Supreme Court today refrained from passing any order at this stage on a petition seeking constitution of SIT to probe series of events leading to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, asking a rights activist to bring out aspects of the incidents which purportedly have not yet been looked into in the last three decades.

Without issuing notice, a bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik granted two weeks to the human rights activist, who filed the petition, to place before it Justice G T Nanavati Commission report which had conducted detailed enquiry into the sequence of events leading to the riots after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 30, 1984. The bench asked petitioner S Sudarshan Singh Wazir to examine the commission's report and find out the issues which required the indulgence of the apex court.

Senior advocate Sunil Sethi, who appeared for the petitioner, sought to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the series of events that led to the "1984 massacre of Sikh community". "Conduct detailed enquiry and investigation so as to charge those responsible for causing, perpetrating, abetting, spreading and influencing the 1984 riots and commission of several crimes connected to the said riots.
"To register cases based on the outcome of such enquiry and investigation and to prosecute those who are charged," the petition filed through advocate Senile Fernandes said. It also sought creation of special fast track courts to try the riots related cases on a day-to-day basis to expedite the judicial process.

Wazir, former President of the Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Board of the Jammu and Kashmir, sought ex gratia compensation be granted to the families of the victims who lost their lives and other affected persons who had suffered several damage to their properties. The petition said around 10 committees were set up to enquire into the riots, however, they have been stained with one or another lapse.

Most of these committees either could not submit their reports or if they did, the key accused named therein were never charged or no action was taken, the petition said. It also mentioned about Rahul Gandhi's recent interview to an English news channel in which he had said that some Congress were "probably involved" in the incidents. 

Justice Nanavati Commission was appointed in 2000 to probe the 1984 riots and it had submitted its report on February 9, 2005 naming few individuals responsible for riots including influential politicians and the then Delhi Police Commissioner. However, despite the report of the commission, no effective action was taken, the petition said.