1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Delhi High Court Upholds Jail Terms of 88 Rioters, Rejects 22-Year-Old Appeals

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the jail terms of more than 80 people, 22 years after they were convicted for involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The convicts had challenged the August 27, 1996 judgment of a Sessions Court which had convicted 88 out of the 107 people arrested on November 2, 1984 for rioting, burning houses and curfew violation in Trilokpuri area of East Delhi.

After the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, the next couple of days witnessed widespread rioting and killings of Sikhs in the national capital.

According to the FIR lodged in connection with the Trilokpuri incident, 95 people had died in the rioting and 100 houses were burnt, senior advocate HS Phoolka, who has been representing the riots victims in various matters, had said.

Of the 88 convicts who moved the high court, only 47 are alive and the court has directed them to surrender soon.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Phoolka said, “Their punishment is the same. They will have to complete their sentence. They have to surrender."