New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday sought a fresh status report from the Delhi Police regarding appeals against acquittals in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and expressed concern over the failure to challenge the Delhi High Court’s refusal to reopen several cases.
A bench led by Justice Abhay S. Oka questioned the inaction, remarking, “We find from the report that the high court has dismissed several cases. You (Delhi Police) have not challenged it here. A large number of cases are there. You take instructions.”
The court was reviewing a status report filed by the Centre and the Delhi Police last month. The report, which was not available during the previous hearing on January 27, revealed that only two special leave petitions (SLPs) had been filed, despite the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Justice (Retd.) SN Dhingra recommended appeals in eight cases.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, representing petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, informed the bench that the SIT’s recommendations were largely ignored. The bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, noted that the high court had dismissed these appeals in August and October 2024.
Addressing Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, the court directed a fresh status report within two days and scheduled the next hearing for February 10.
The public interest litigation was filed by Kahlon, a former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member, whose petition led to the Supreme Court constituting an SIT in 2018 to reinvestigate 199 closed cases related to the riots.
