CBI slow to probe Tytler's role in '84 riots, says court

The Delhi high court on Thursday expressed concern over the way the Central Bureau of Investigation was probing allegations against former Union minister Jagdish Tytler about his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Justice Anil Dev Singh, who had ordered a CBI investigation into a complaint filed before the Justice Ranganath Misra commission of inquiry by riot victim Rajwant Kaur and two of her relatives, said, ''It seems the CBI is not keen to investigate the matter.'' He had handed the case to the CBI after he found the police going slow on the matter.

CBI counsel S Lal said the trial court had ordered acquittal in all cases under First Information Report 633 of November 1984 as per the instructions he had received. Hence, no case was made out for investigation.

But the counsel for the petitioner objected, saying the acquittal was ordered not in FIR 633, but in FIR 639. The judge said it was the CBI's duty to ascertain what the order was and on which FIR.

''Is it not your duty to see whether acquittal has been passed or not and in which cases?" he asked the CBI counsel, before demanding, "Have you seen the order?''

He then directed the CBI to ascertain the contents of the order and also whether any order was passed in relation to Rajwant Kaur's complaint. The case was then adjourned to November 4 for further hearing. The judge would not take as an excuse the CBI counsel's contention that the investigation could not be initiated as the court's earlier order did not specify the exact number of the FIR.

In her complaint, Rajwant Kaur had named two police officials and Tytler of inciting the mob which killed her husband.

Kaur had further alleged that the Delhi police, which had been investigating the case earlier, recorded statements of neighbours and some victims under section 162 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and not under section 161, which is considered good in law.

The Delhi police, in an affidavit filed before the judge, had stated that Rajwant Kaur's complaint was misplaced and that no investigation could be carried out on it. On August 26, the high court directed the CBI to reinvestigate the matter.

The judge had asked the agency to probe the role of Tytler and two police officials in inciting an anti-Sikh mob in north Delhi on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.