The Delhi high court has recently reversed the acquittal charges by the trial court on the 1984 anti-Sikh riot convict.
What is the case?
The case relates to killing of five Sikhs and burning down of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar area in south-west Delhi on 1 and 2 November 1984.
This has happened at the backdrop of a riot that broke out following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October of that year.
Thousands of people were killed in the riots.
Six accused, including Sajjan Kumar, who was a member of Parliament at that time, were tried in 2010.
Three years later, the lower court had convicted five of the accused but acquitted Kumar of all the charges.
The trial court had rejected the testimony of eye witnesses against him.
The case was appealed by the CBI, riots victims and the convicts challenging the trial court’s order.
The Delhi High Court reversed the acquittal and sentenced Kumar to imprisonment for the remainder of his life.
The court accused him of promoting enmity and for acts against communal harmony.
It has also said that the riots were a “crime against humanity”.
What are the concerns?
The court says that the Delhi Police and its Riot Cell had failed to carry out a genuine investigation.
The police have failed to record any untoward incident in the station’s daily register and has also avoided the examination of key witnesses.
Thus this case is an example not only of the slowness of judicial processes but also of derailed investigations.
The investigation made meaningful progress only after it has been transferred to CBI based on a recommendation by the Nanavati Commission.
What should be done?
The Delhi high court has heard testimonies of fearless and truthful witnesses and has proceeded the case accordingly, reigniting the hope for substantial justice.
The judgement reinforce the hope that political patronage, administrative complicity and plain muscle power cannot prevail over the truth all the time.
However, the court has flagged the need for a separate law for punishment for crimes against humanity and genocide, since they are rarely invoked in domestic crimes.
Thus, given the major communal flashpoints in recent history, the legislature should look at the need for it and implement accordingly.
