Court adjourns verdict on Tytler till April 28

New Delhi, Apr 9 (ANI): A Kakardooma Court on Thursday postponed the hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) plea for closing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler.

The court will hear the arguments from both sides on April 28 and 29.

The court held that all evidence filed pertaining to the case needs to be analysed before taking a decision on the CBI's final closure report.

During the hearing, the CBI argued that the court did not have the power to take a decision on the investigation done by the agency since the case was related to murder.

However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit overruled the CBI's point and fixed the argument on the matter for a later date.

The court has also directed the investigating agency to hand it over the CDs containing the evidence in the case.

During the period of the court hearing, over 500 protesters from various Sikh organisations broke the barricades outside the court and climbed over gates.

The protesters, who were agitated over the CBI's decision to give a clean chit to Tytler, demanded stringent punishment for him for his alleged role in instigating the riots pertaining to killing of three persons when a mob attacked Gurudwara Pulbangash on November 1, 1984.

They even burnt an effigy of Tytler outside the court premises.

Extra police forces were deployed at the court to maintain law and order.

The CBI, on April 2, had recommended quashing of FIR against Tytler as it did not have sufficient evidence to proceed on the matter. On March 28, the CBI filed the report in a sealed envelope before Metropolitan Magistrate Ram Lal Meena.

Tytler was among the three prominent leaders named in the reports on anti-Sikh riots. Two other leaders named were Sajjan Kumar and the late HKL Bhagat.

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which claimed the lives of almost 3000 Sikhs, were triggered by the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards. (ANI)