The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of around 80 people and awarded five-year jail term in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
The High Court dismissed their appeals against the conviction by a trial court for burning houses and curfew violations during the riots.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of around 80 people and awarded five-year jail term in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
The High Court dismissed their appeals against the conviction by a trial court for burning houses and curfew violations during the riots.
Justice R K Gauba directed all the convicts to surrender within four weeks.
The convicts had challenged the August 27, 1996 judgement 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.
On November 20, a Delhi court awarded death penalty to a man and life imprisonment to another after holding them guilty of murder in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey awarded the death penalty to Yashpal Singh and sentenced Naresh Sherawat to life imprisonment.
The prosecution demanded death penalty to the two, saying it was the rarest of rare case. But the defence counsel pleaded for leniency.
Earlier, the court had convicted Sherawat and Yashpal Singh for murder, attempt to murder, dacoity and voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons.
Sherawat and Yashpal Singh were accused of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of south Delhi during the riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
On a complaint by the victim's brother Santokh Singh, the police lodged a case. But in 1994, the police wanted to close the case citing lack of evidence. The case was reopened by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
PTI