Delhi court grants anticipatory bail to Tytler in 1984 Sikh genocide case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday allowed Congress leader Jagdish Tytler’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the Sikh gencide in 1984 in the national capital’s Pul Bangash area.

While Special Judge Vikas Dhull granted him anticipatory bail, he also imposed certain conditions like not leaving the country without the court’s permission, and not to tamper with the evidence in the case.

Tytler on Tuesday moved the Rouse Avenue Court, which had issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the probe agency took an objection to his request saying that the witnesses have come forward showing great courage and the possibility of influencing them cannot be ignored.

On July 26, the court summoned Tytler for August 5 in the matter. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vidhi Anand Gupta of a special MP-MLA court had passed the order after taking cognisance of a CBI charge sheet in the case.

Gurdwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market was set on fire by a mob on November 1, 1984 and three persons, namely Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh, were burnt to death.

The incident took place a day after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

In its charge sheet filed before the court, the CBI has said that Tytler incited, instigated and provoked the mob that had assembled at the gurdwara on November 1, that resulted in the burning down of the gurdwara and killing of three persons of the Sikh community.

Charges under Sections 147 (rioting), 109 (abetment) read with 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among others, have been invoked against Tytler by the probe agency.

On June 2, the Rouse Avenue Court approved a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI against Tytler in the genocide case and also transferred the case to the special MP-MLA court for trial.

The court had earlier also instructed the CBI to expedite the process of obtaining the forensic report of Tytler’s voice sample.

The Congress leader was named in the charge sheet following fresh evidence against him.

In April, the central probe agency had collected Tytler’s voice sample in connection with the violence in Pul Bangash. Tytler was accused of inciting a mob that murdered the victims.