1984 Riots: Delhi Court to Decide on Cognizance of Charge Sheet Against Jagdish Tytler

The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court will take a decision on July 19 regarding the cognizance of a charge sheet filed against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in relation to the alleged Pul Bangash killings during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vidhi Gupta Anand reserved the order after hearing arguments from the prosecuting agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as well as the counsel representing the complainant.

The judge also directed the court staff to verify the completeness of the case records received from another court that previously handled the case. A report on this matter is to be submitted by July 19, the next date of hearing.

The judge acknowledged that the records, submitted by the staff of a Karkardooma court, were voluminous and contained in seven judicial files.

Furthermore, the judge directed the CBI to provide a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) regarding the forensic examination of Jagdish Tytler’s voice samples. The CBI had previously filed a charge sheet against Tytler on May 20 in connection with the case.

The Pul Bangash area witnessed the killing of three individuals and the torching of a gurudwara on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The CBI, in its charge sheet presented before a special court, alleged that Tytler “incited, instigated, and provoked the mob assembled at Pul Bangash Gurdwara Azad Market” on that day, resulting in the gurudwara’s destruction and the deaths of three Sikhs: Thakur Singh, Badal Singh, and Guru Charan Singh.

The CBI has charged Tytler under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 147 (rioting), 109 (abetment), and 302 (murder), among others.