New Delhi: Senior advocate H S Phoolka today slammed the Centre for its decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases saying, it does not have powers of investigation under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
He said, the SIT would only have recommendatory powers.
“It has been reported in the media that the central government has finally appointed a SIT comprising a retired judge and two officers to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Similar committees comprising retired judges and police officers have been appointed earlier too.
“As it appear from the media reports, what has been appointed by the government is actually a committee and to call it an SIT would be factually incorrect. A committee or SIT having only recommendatory powers will not be of much use,” Phoolka said in a statement.
A Special Investigation Team is likely to be set up by the government next week for a fresh investigation into the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.
The move comes a week after a Home Ministry-appointed a committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G P Mathur, submitted its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh recommending fresh probe into the anti-Sikh riot cases through a SIT, official sources said.
The AAP government of Delhi had in January last year recommended setting-up of a SIT comprising of only police officers, from outside Delhi Police.
“Kejriwal government had recommended that the SIT should reopen and further investigate 237 cases which were closed by the police and were never sent for trial to the court,” he added.
