In a new order passed by The Delhi High Court, it has decided to conduct day-to-day hearing in the death reference and subsequent appeal of convict Yashpal Singh’s against the capital punishment awarded to him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
A bench comprising Justices Siddharth Mridul and Manoj Kumar Ohri said the appeal and the death reference of convict Yashpal Singh would be heard on a daily basis till the conclusion of all arguments.
In a recent order, the bench said, “list for hearing on April 22. It is made clear that, the hearing of the connected appeal and death reference shall be conducted on day to day basis till the conclusion of the arguments.”
Earlier, in the same case, the court had also sought a response from the police on Yashpal’s plea that challenged his death sentence.
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Along with him, the trial court had also awarded life term to co-convict Naresh Sherawat (case related to the killing of two men in New Delhi during the 1984 riots). These were the first convictions after the cases had been reopened by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The Delhi Police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence, but it was reopened by the SIT. The SIT is now investigating approx 60 riot cases. For 52 other cases, it has filed them as ‘untraced report.’
This was the first death penalty after the SIT was formed. Another convict by the name of Kishori was earlier given the death penalty by a trial court in seven anti-Sikh riots cases.
However, the Delhi High Court confirmed death penalty only in three cases, which were later commuted to life term by the apex court.
As per the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the death penalty cannot be executed unless confirmed by the high court.
The trial court had awarded varying jail terms to the convicts and imposed fines for offences including attempt to murder, dacoity and attacking victims by dangerous weapons. It had, however, spared convict Naresh the gallows on medical grounds.