Delhi court dismisses bid to reopen 1984 riot deaths case
A Delhi special judge has overturned a 2017 order to file an FIR about two deaths in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, citing lack of new evidence.
More than 40 years after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a Delhi special judge set aside a 2017 magistrate order that had mandated registration of an FIR concerning the deaths of Amir Singh and Narender Singh. The petition, filed by survivor Amrik Singh, accused former DCP Amod Kanth and former ACP/SHO SS Manan of police inaction and wrongful arrest. Judge Bhupinder Singh emphasized that legal proceedings must eventually reach finality and that sympathy cannot replace the evidentiary foundation required.
He highlighted the extraordinary delay and the lack of any fresh forensic data, new witness statements, or specific acts linking the accused to the deaths. Earlier investigations, including testimony before the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission, had found no reliable material indicating officer misconduct. Consequently, the court concluded that the case could not be reopened without new, credible evidence.
Why it matters
The ruling underscores the difficulty of reviving decades-old riot cases without fresh proof, affecting accountability for historic violence.
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