1984 anti-Sikh riots case: Supreme Court gives go-ahead to two-member SIT for further investigation into 186 pending cases

The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted the Centre’s suggestion to allow a two-member special investigation team (SIT) to continue the probe into 186 cases in connection to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. ANI reported that the apex court modified its 11 January order of instituting a SIT of three members. India Today reported that retired IPS officer Rajdeep Singh declined to become a part of the team appointed by the Supreme Court in January, citing personal reasons. [caption id=“attachment_5264561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of the Supreme Court of India. Reuters[/caption] In January, the bench headed by former CJI Dipak Misra had said that the SIT would comprise of a former Delhi High Court judge, a former IPS officer equivalent to the rank of an inspector general, and a serving IPS officer. On Monday, the Centre told a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that the government has no objection if the remaining two members of the SIT — former Delhi High Court judge Justice SN Dhingra and serving IPS officer Abhishek Dular — continue with the work. However, the bench had then observed that since the 11 January order constituting a three-member SIT was passed by a bench of three judges, they cannot modify it while sitting in a combination of two judges. On 28 November, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the plea and upheld the conviction of all 88 accused in the case, and directed them to surrender. However, only 47 out of 88 accused are reportedly still alive. Large-scale riots had broken out in the national capital in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards on the morning of 31 October, 1984. The violence had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.