1984
India's Central Bureau of Investigation: Delhi Police Intentionally Sabotaged 1984 Prosecutions.
by DHANANJAY MAHAPATRA
New Delhi, India
After 26 years of delay in giving justice to victims of the anti-Sikh pogroms which claimed more than 3,000 innocent lives, India's Central Bureau of Investigation ("CBI") has for the first time admitted that sham investigations and farcical prosecutions by Delhi Police resulted in denial of justice and helped in shielding the accused.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court opposing accused Congress
leader Sajjan Kumar's plea for quashing charges framed against him in
an anti-Sikh pogrom case, CBI decried the petition as nothing but Kumar's
old tactics to stall the trial.
''One can't lose sight of the
fact that 24 complaints were investigated in one FIR about scores of
deaths, and because of sham investigations and farcical prosecutions,
there has been a failure of justice for which victims are aggrieved,''
CBI said.
Referring to the case in which Sajjan Kumar was the key accused, CBI said in FIR No. 416 of 1984 registered at Delhi Cantonment Police Station,
24 complaints were investigated pertaining to 60 deaths in the area.
Delhi Police filed five chargesheets pertaining to only five deaths. All
ended in acquittals.
The case was reopened by the anti-riot
cell of Delhi Police in 2002, but after investigations, a closure report
was filed in court on December 15, 2005. The report was filed despite
the CBI having been asked to probe the case on October 26, 2005, on the
basis of the Justice Nanavati Commission report.
''Both the trial court and the high court have aptly termed it a clandestine attempt to hush up the matter and the High Court
has gone a step further in asking the commissioner of police, Delhi,
to inquire as to how and in what capacity the status report was filed by
Delhi Police on July 31, 2008,'' the agency said in its affidavit filed
through counsel T.A. Khan.
The Bench, comprising Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan, adjourned the hearing on Sajjan Kumar's plea for quashing of the charges till September 7, 2010 and extended the stay on trial till that day.
Though the Bench felt the High Court's observations left no other option for
the trial court but to convict Sajjan Kumar, CBI in its affidavit said, ''All
the observations made by the HighCourt are purely within the confines of the
facts of the case as well as material available on record and in no
manner prejudice the case of the petitioner.''
After taking up the probe in October 2005, CBI had filed a chargesheet against Sajjan Kumar and others in the Karkardooma Court
on January 13, 2010. The sessions court had framed charges against the
accused on May 15. The CBI said, ''A perusal of the final report
(chargesheet) would show that there is direct evidence against the
petitioner (Sajjan Kumar) about his involvement in the commission of the crime
in the present case.''
Accusing Sajjan Kumar of adopting delaying
tactics, the CBI said, ''The entire effort of the petitioner is to delay
proceedings before the trial court, and by obtaining ex-parte stay from
the Supreme Court, the case of the prosecution has been seriously
prejudiced.''
[Courtesy: Times of India]
August 28, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Dr. Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), August 28, 2010, 2:47 PM.
Every democratic nation, at one time or another, has had to deal with its past (difficult issues) - America had to deal with slavery/ civil rights/ KKK, etc. Canada with Komagata Maru/ incidents related to it's aboriginal people/ and recently, the Air India bombing, etc. Germany with the Jewish holocaust, etc. It is worthy to note that every one of these nations came out stronger by re-building faith of its people, and of the populace around the world in its democratic institutions of law enforcement and justice. Visionary leaders of these successful nations seized on the opportunity to make amends by acknowledging the wrong-doings, by apologizing to bring closure to various nefarious chapters in their nation's history. By doing so, these leaders also made a place for themselves in history (JFK, John Deifenbaker and now our current PM, Stephen Harper). However such greatness eludes the leaders of India today. I believe this is a great opportunity for Indian democracy and its leaders to set a new course for its democratic institutions (law enforcement and judiciary) to show that they are not above the law and can deliver justice by apprehending the criminals responsible for the killing and brutalizing of its own innocent citizens (whether during the riots in Gujarat or Bombay or 1984 pogroms against the Sikhs). This will only build confidence of the world community in the democratic institutions of this largest democracy and one of the great civilizations on the planet.