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Death penalty for 1984 anti-Sikh riots accused - a timeline of the case

 A Delhi court Tuesday awarded death penalty to convict Yashpal Singh and ordered life imprisonment to another, Naresh Sherawat, for killing of two men during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi leaving nearly 3,000 people dead.

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 A Delhi court Tuesday awarded death penalty to convict Yashpal Singh and ordered life imprisonment to another, Naresh Sherawat, for killing of two men during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi leaving nearly 3,000 people dead.


In the first verdict after the riots-related cases were reopened by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2015, the court held that Singh's offence fell under the "rarest of rare" category warranting the death penalty. The Delhi Police had closed this case in 1994 for want of evidence.

The SIT is investigating nearly 60 cases related to the riots, while it has filed "untraced report" in 52 cases.

The court also imposed fine of Rs 35 lakh each on both the convicts and directed payment of the fine amount as compensation to surviving family members of deceased Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh.

While this is the first death penalty after the SIT was formed, one Kishori was earlier given the death penalty by a trial court in as many as seven anti-Sikh riots cases. However, the Delhi High Court confirmed death penalty only in three cases, which were later commuted to life-term by the Supreme Court.

 Following is the chronology of events that led to conviction and the awarding of capital punishment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which Yashpal Singh was given death penalty and co-convict Naresh Sherawat imprisoned to life Tuesday.

-Nov 1, 1984: Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh were attacked and killed by a violent mob in the Mahipalpur area of South Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

-Feb 23, 1985: Charge sheet filed against one Jai Pal Singh -May 1985: Justice Ranganath Misra formed.

-Sep 9, 1985: Affidavit filed by Santokh Singh, brother of Hardev Singh before Justice Rangnath Misra Commission and investigation was conducted by Anti-Riot Cell of Delhi Police. -Dec 20, 1986: Jai Pal Singh was acquitted.

-1993: A case was registered at Vasant Kunj police station on the recommendation of Justice J D Jain and D K Aggarwal committee based on Singh's affidavit.

-Feb 9, 1994: Delhi Police could not gather evidence to prosecute any accused and after investigation, an untraced (closure) report was filed which was accepted by the court -Feb 12, 2015: Ministry of Home Affairs constitutes SIT for reinvestigating the 1984 riots.

-Aug 27, 2016: SIT publishes a public notice in leading newspapers of Punjab and Delhi requesting people acquainted with the facts of the case to give evidence about it.

-Jan 31, 2017: SIT files its charge sheet naming Naresh Sherawat and Yahspal Singh and cites 18 witnesses in total.

-Nov 14, 2018: Court convicts Singh and Sherawat for killing two men in the 1984 riots.

-Nov 15: Court reserves order on the quantum of punishment to be awarded to two persons for killing two men.

-Nov 20: A Delhi court awards death penalty to convict Yashpal, the first capital punishment in the case and gives life term to Sherawat. 

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