Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A week after the Supreme Court advised the Delhi Police that filing appeals against acquittals of accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots must be “done seriously and not just for the sake of it,” the latter on Monday told the top court that it will file six appeals against orders of acquittal.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Delhi police informed a bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan that a decision had been taken in this regard. She said eight appeals were filed before the Delhi High Court and appeals challenging Special Leave Petition (SLPs) in two of them had already been filed before the SC. The appeals in the remaining six cases too will be filed soon, the ASG said.
Taking note, the bench directed the police to ensure that the proposed SLPs be “filed in the maximum period of six weeks from today”. It also said the same should be placed before the Chief Justice of India, “seeking directions for tagging those SLPs along with the present writ petition”.
The court was hearing a PIL by former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee member S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, on whose plea the top court in 2018 formed an SIT led by former Delhi HC judge Justice S N Dhingra to probe 199 cases where investigations had been closed.
The SIT in its report castigated the police and administration over their response to the riots, saying their “whole role… seems to have been to hush up the criminal cases concerning the riots”.
Senior Advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for the petitioner on Monday, contended that “there was cover up and the state did not prosecute properly”.
The Justice Dhingra committee recommended filing appeals against the acquittals. Though the Delhi police filed appeals, they were dismissed by the High Court on grounds of delay.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
