1984 anti-Sikh riots: Supreme Court orders expeditious trial of 11 cases in Kanpur

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the expeditious trial of 11 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in which chargesheets were filed post a reinvestigation.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the special public prosecutors appointed in the case to enter appearance before the courts aside from measures for the cases' early disposal.

The bench underlined an "inordinate delay" in the matter and ordered the expeditious trial of the cases.

Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, said a 40-year-old illegible FIR in a Kanpur anti-Sikh riots case was forwarded to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to re-trace its contents but the laboratory was yet to give a report.

The bench directed the CFSL to expedite the process and submit its report at the earliest.

Goel referred to the trial being underway with the examination of witnesses in a related case.

The counsel appearing for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee said some accused persons moved the high court and obtained a stay on the proceedings.

The top court was hearing a plea for the reopening of the killings of around 130 Sikhs in Kanpur during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

On March 3, the bench allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to engage forensic experts to reconstruct the four-decade-old illegible FIR in the case, requesting the laboratory's director not to insist on the original FIR, which was not readily available in the records of the chief judicial magistrate, Kanpur.

Even if the CFSL found the contents of the FIR were illegible, the court lab was asked to "identify the Hindi words/expressions" on the basis of which victims might be able to submit their protest petitions in the court concerned.

The top court on January 2 permitted the complainants and their families to engage a private counsel to assist the high court in appeals against the acquittals of the accused persons.

"If the complainants/victims or their families are not in a position to avail the services of a private counsel, they are permitted to approach the executive chairpersons of the UP State Legal Services Authority/High Court Legal Services Committee immediately," it said.

In the 11 cases, which were reinvestigated and chargesheets were filed, the Uttar Pradesh government appointed Kamlesh Kumar Pathak and Ranjeet Singh as special public prosecutors.

"In those cases also, we permit the complainants/victims/ their families to engage counsel for which the trial court is directed to accord necessary permission," the bench said.

If owing to financial constraints, the top court said, the complainants and their families were unable to engage such a counsel, the district legal services authority will provide the best expert leading lawyer of the sessions division to represent the victims in trial, on payment of special fee.

The fee would be sanctioned by the executive chairperson of the UP State Legal Services Authority as a special case, it added.