1984 anti-Sikh riots case: Delhi High Court upholds conviction of all 88 found guilty by trial court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of all 88 people found guilty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case by the trial court,  ANI reported. The court, dismissing the plea of all 88 convicts who were held guilty of rioting in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri area and told them to surrender soon. CNN-News18 reported only 47 out of the 88 accused are alive. The 88 convicts were sentenced to five years by the trial court. The convicts challenged the 27 August, 1996, judgment of a sessions court which convicted 88 out of the 107 people arrested on 2 November, 1984,  for rioting, burning houses and curfew violation. [caption id=“attachment_5190641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] HS Phoolka, the advocate representing the victims and their families, told reporters the court criticised the delay in the case and recommended several measures to counter the violence arising from the riots. Phoolka also said that according to the FIR lodged in connection with the Trilokpuri incident, 95 people died in the rioting and 100 houses were burnt. “Their punishment is the same. They will have to complete their sentence. They have to surrender,”  Phoolka added Phoolka also said some of the convicted are Congress workers, but no Congress leaders were involved in this case. He also stated that the victims and their families expect justice in the cases of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. Earlier on 20 November, a Delhi court pronounced death penalty to Yashpal Singh and life imprisonment to Naresh Sehrawat for killing two Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court also slapped Rs 35 lakh fine on each of them.