1984 anti-Sikh riots: Supreme Court grants 2 more months to SIT to complete its probe
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday granted two more months to the Special Investigation Team to complete its probe into 186 cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer extended the time after the SIT informed it that more than 50 per cent of the work has been done and it wanted two more months to complete the investigation.
The apex court also issued notice to parties on a plea by petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, seeking inquiry into role of 62 policemen named in the riots.
The apex court had on January 11 last year constituted the SIT headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice S N Dhingra and comprising retired IPS officer Rajdeep Singh and serving IPS officer Abhishek Dular to supervise further probe into the 186 riots cases, in which closure reports had been filed earlier.
However, the SIT presently has only two members as Singh had declined to be a part of the team on "personal grounds".
The top court had appointed the three-member SIT after the Ministry of Home Affairs and counsel for petitioner S G S Kahlon arrived at a consensus with regard to the persons who could be appointed in the fresh SIT.
Large-scale riots had broken out in the national capital following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards on October 31, 1984. The violence had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.
The court had said the previous SIT did not carry out further probe into the 186 cases and had directed setting up of a fresh SIT comprising a former high court judge and two police officers.
Justice Dhingra, who had retired from the Delhi High Court, had dealt with several high-profile cases including the 2001 Parliament Attack case as a trial judge.
As the judge of the trial court, he had dealt with many of the 1984 riot cases, and his verdicts had resulted in conviction in 16 cases.
On August 16, 2017, the apex court had appointed a supervisory panel to examine the earlier SIT's decision to close 241 cases.
The Centre had said that out of 250 riots cases which were probed by that SIT, closure reports were filed in 241. It had said some cases were still being investigated by the SIT, and two by the CBI.
The earlier SIT was headed by Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of 1986 batch, and comprised retired district and sessions judge Rakesh Kapoor and additional deputy commissioner of the Delhi Police Kumar Gyanesh.
Kahlon had told the court that a total of 293 riot-related cases were taken up for scrutiny by the earlier SIT which later decided to close 199 of them.
Kahlon had sought the top court's direction for setting up another SIT to ensure speedy justice to the riot victims.
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Modi should leverage his ties with world leaders to de-escalate war in West Asia: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said India can play a meaningful role in de-escalation in West Asia, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relations with the warring countries and their neighbours.
He said Pakistan was leveraging ties with Iran and the United States, and that any effort towards ending the war should be welcomed.
"As I said in the House (Assembly), we would like the war to end as soon as possible. The role that the prime minister can play may not be possible for anyone else because of his good relations with all these countries," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He, however, said any escalation would not be easy to manage.
"Any such move by US President Donald Trump, despite the long history of Iran resisting external domination, would not be easy," the chief minister said.
Asked about Pakistan mediating in the war, he said, "I will simply say that if any country can play a role in preventing this war, no one should have any objection to it."
He added, "I will repeat what I said … our prime minister has good and close relations with all countries — whether it is Israel, the United States, Iran, or the countries around Iran. If those relationships can be used to make some progress and help ease the situation, it would be a good thing."
Abdullah said attacks by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, as suggested by a report from the United States, are not unlikely.
Meanwhile, he asserted that any efforts to end the war, be it from Pakistan, must not be resisted.
"Pakistan is using its good relations with Iran and the United States to its advantage, and it has done so. How can we object to that? If that angle helps in stopping the war, would you want them not to act and let the war continue? We want the war to stop. If any country can play a role in that, it should. And if we can play an even better role, then we should do so," he said.
On unemployment in J-K, the chief minister said the issue cannot be resolved overnight, and government jobs alone are not the solution.
He stressed the need to explore alternative avenues, highlighting the importance of Mission Yuva in promoting entrepreneurship.
"Mission Yuva provides not just funding but also support in preparing DPRs and post-startup assistance, such as marketing. In just nine months, distributing Rs 1,000 crore and approving numerous schemes is a significant achievement," he said.
Abdullah credited the coordination between the government and Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the scheme's progress.
