A delegation of eminent citizens on Tuesday requested President Ram Nath Kovind to direct the Supreme Court to notify the name of the third member of the Special Investigation Team investigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, PTI reported. The panel said it urged Kovind to intervene as the team cannot function without the third member.
In January, the top court had said a team comprising a retired high court judge and one serving and one retired Indian Police Service officer would investigate 186 anti-Sikh riots cases. The investigation, however, was delayed after a former IPS officer refused to join the team, the news agency reported.
The delegation included former Army chief JJ Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Meenakshi Lekhi, Supreme Court senior advocate Rupinder S Suri, Rajasthan additional advocate general Gurcharan S Gill and former MLA RP Singh. “The SIT which was supposed to give its report within two to three months is not able to function in the absence of a member,” Lekhi said.
The group submitted a letter to Kovind. “We are making this fervent appeal to you for your urgent intervention as the things have indeed come to a very sorry pass,” the delegation said in the letter.
The team is empowered to reopen closed cases based on new evidence.
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