1984 Sikh riots: Home asks CBI to reopen cases

The ministry, however, is yet to decide whether to re-open cases against police officials and bureaucrats indicted by the Commission—which had passed severe strictures against nine police officials, including the then Police Commissioner of Delhi S C Tandon and DCP Chander Prakesh.

On this, Home Ministry has sent several reminders to the Law Ministry, which is yet to respond to its query on how to proceed against the officers, most of whom have retired. According to the rules, officers can be proceed against only within three years of retirement. Most officers named by the Commission retired long ago.

Though the CBI was not able to secure the prosecution of either Tytler or Sajjan, the government felt that the Opposition would get an issue to attack the government if the cases were referred to the Delhi Police, whose conduct in the riots is under cloud.

In his two-volume report on the riots, Justice Nanavati had observed that there was ‘‘credible evidence against Jagdish Tytler to the effect that he very probably he had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs’’. The commission further said that government should ‘‘look into this aspect and take further action’’.

On the role of Sajjan Kumar, the Commission recommended examination of cases in which no chargesheet was filed, though he was specifically accused by the witnesses. These cases were terminated as untraced.

The Commission had also observed that there was ‘‘credible evidence’’ that Congress leader from Karol Bagh Dharam Das Shastri had instigated his men, Tek Chand Sharma and Rajinder Singh, to organise the attacks. The Commission had recommended that these cases be examined.

According to CBI officials, the agency will use the affidavits filed before the commission as a starting point. It will, however, have to re-record the statements and then file charges against the suspects.