Reconstruct trial records from 1984 riots case, HC orders

The Delhi High Court has ordered the reconstruction of four-decade-old trial records in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, saying the victims’ and society's right to a fair investigation and trial cannot be compromised by missing files or flawed earlier proceedings.

- Shruti Kakkar

The directive, issued to the trial court, concerns the acquittal of five men including former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar in the killing of four Sikhs in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar.

The murders took place on November 1, 1984, a day after then PM Indira Gandhi's assassination. Three women had alleged that their husbands and son were burnt alive. In 1986, the trial court acquitted Khokhar and four others, citing lack of evidence.