The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Friday ordered the CBI to frame charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, where three people were killed.
The court determined that the trial against Tytler could proceed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 143, 147, 153A, 188, 295, 436, 451, 380, 149, 302, and 109.
In its charge sheet filed in May 2023, the CBI accused Tytler, a former union minister, of inciting and provoking a mob that gathered near the Pul Bangash gurdwara on November 1, 1984.
According to a witness, Tytler exited a white ambassador car in front of the gurdwara and incited the crowd, shouting, “Kill the Sikhs, they have killed our mother!” Subsequently, three people were killed by the enraged mob, angered over the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards the previous day.
In August last year, a sessions court granted anticipatory bail to Tytler in the case, on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and a surety of the same amount.
The CBI has brought charges against Tytler under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 147 (rioting), 109 (abetment) and 302 (murder).
How Congress rewarded Jagdish Tytler over the years
The Congress party is not only tainted with accusations of leading the genocide of Sikhs in the wake of former PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her two Sikh bodyguards, but over the years, the party has also earned the dubious distinction of rewarding those accused of egregious charges during the anti-Sikh pogrom.
The 1984 Anti-Sikh riots took place in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as revenge for Operation Blue Star. From 1st November to 4th November, Sikhs across the country were killed. The government figures suggest the angry mobs, many of which were led by Congress leaders, brutally murdered 3,350 Sikhs.
However, Congress not only shielded those who carried out the pogrom but also rewarded them.
One of those rewarded was Jagdish Tytler, who continues to hold sway in the Congress party. The Nanavati Commission recorded the testimony of a witness namely, Jasbir Singh, who stated that on 3rd November 1984, he was passing by the TB hospital gate after taking dinner at the house of one Sucha Singh situated at Outram lane when he had seen Jagdish Tytler coming there in a car.
Singh furthered that he heard Tytler “rebuked” the persons who were standing because his instructions were not faithfully carried out. Therefore his position was greatly compromised and lowered in the eyes of the central leaders. He has alleged to have further stated that there was only nominal killing in his constituency compared to East Delhi, Outer Delhi, and Cant. etc. and it would be difficult for him to stake a claim in future as he has promised large-scale killing of Sikhs. He had complained to those persons that they had betrayed and let him down.
Despite the damning testimony against Tytler, the Congress party did not take punitive action against him. He remained a mainstay of the party’s Delhi unit, often attending meetings and weighing in on his opinions on matters of import.
Jagdish Tytler was subsequently given tickets to contest the election by the Indian National Congress and also made Union Minister of Civil Aviation first and then the Labour Department. He had contested the 2004 elections and won as well. He was dropped in the 2009 polls.
In December 2022, Tytler was seen attending the Congress Delhi Unit’s meeting over the preparations for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He was also seen campaigning for the Congress party during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
