1984 anti-Sikh riots: SC issues notice to Delhi Police

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a batch of pleas filed by convicts in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The matter was heard by a three-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, and Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.

The pleas had been filed by various convicts who were indicted by the Delhi High Court.

The SC bench set July 23 as the next date of hearing, stating they would hear the matter in a detailed manner on that day.

After a span of 22 years, the Delhi High Court on November 28 last year had upheld the Karkardooma trial court's order convicting 88 people in a case relating to anti-Sikh riots that took place in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area in 1984.

In 1996, the Sessions Court of Karkardooma had convicted 88 of the total arrested accused. The convicts had later filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court against the trial court's order.

More than 100 people were arrested in November 1984 for allegedly rioting, burning houses and violating curfew imposed in the Trilokpuri area of Delhi.

Massive riots had erupted across the country after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards. As per the official records, around 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2100 in Delhi alone, during the violence.