Delhi High Court Flags Gaps in 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Case Investigation, Orders Reconstruction of Records

Court Expresses Concerns Over Investigation and Trial

The Delhi High Court, while hearing five petitions linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has highlighted serious gaps in both the investigation and the conduct of the trials in three specific cases. These cases relate to the violence in the Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantt during November 1984.

The petitions were taken up suo moto by the court and are connected to a CBI appeal against the acquittal of former MP Sajjan Kumar in another Raj Nagar-related case.

Acquittals and Missing Case Records

In 1986, the trial court acquitted all accused in these cases. However, during the High Court's review, it found that essential case records were missing. These include:

  • Deposition of witnesses

  • Exhibited documents

  • Statements recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC

The absence of such records, the bench noted, makes it impossible to proceed with the current petitions.

Bench Observations

The Division Bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar observed that the trial court judgments were “not well considered” and that the material on record revealed several lacunae in both investigation and trial. The judges also pointed out that crucial eyewitnesses were never examined due to insufficient efforts to locate them, particularly as many addresses had been abandoned after the riots.

Order to Reconstruct Records

The High Court directed the jurisdictional trial court to reconstruct the records for:

  • Sessions Case 10/86

  • Sessions Case 31/86

  • Sessions Case 32/86

The bench instructed that efforts should be made on a “best endeavour basis” to retrieve records from all possible sources, including:

  • CBI archives

  • Supreme Court Registry (records from related appeals)

  • Archives of various committees and commissions appointed to investigate the riots

Criticism of Investigation

The court criticised the investigation agency for filing a composite challan for several cases, which it said reflected a perfunctory investigation. It emphasised that the rights of victims and society to a free and fair trial cannot be compromised by treating the matter as a “fait accompli” (an accomplished fact).

Reference to Supreme Court Guidance

The bench said it would follow the course suggested by the Supreme Court in the Abhai Raj Singh case for handling missing records in criminal proceedings.

Previous Investigations and Convictions

The High Court also recalled that several commissions had been formed over the years to investigate different aspects of the 1984 riots. In one related case, the CBI’s investigation into the murders of five Sikh men — Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvinder Singh, Narender Pal Singh, and Kuldeep Singh — had led to the conviction of six accused. Appeals in that case are currently pending before the Supreme Court.

Next Steps

The matter is now listed for further hearing on September 1, with the court expressing hope that the missing records can be recovered to ensure justice is served.


Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India

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