Anti-Sikh riots: Justice Dhingra led SIT to probe 'closed' cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave its nod to a two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former Delhi High Court Judge S.N. Dhingra to probe 186 anti-Sikh riot cases that had been declared closed.

The other member of the SIT is Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Abhishek Dular.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur approved the two-member Committee modifying the top court's January 11 order after former IPS officer Rajdeep Singh expressed personal difficulties about being on the SIT.

Earlier, a three-member SIT comprising Justice Dhingra, and two IPS officers - one serving Dular and the other Singh was set up. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra (since retired), Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had formed that three-member SIT.

The SIT was set up after a report by a supervisory committee said that of the 241 cases closed by a previous SIT, 186 were closed without "further probe".

These 241 cases were scrutinised by the Supervisory Committee comprising former Supreme Court Justices J.M. Panchal and K.S. Radhakrishnan.

Rampaging mobs had killed around 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere across India in the aftermath of former PM Indira Gandhi's assassination by two of her Sikh security guards.