SC asks ‘We the Citizens’ to withdraw plea, make representation before Centre

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The Supreme Court asked a non-profit organisation called ‘We the Citizens’ to withdraw its plea on Friday demanding the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Sikhs and Hindus who had fled the Valley due to terrorism.

The petitioner was instructed by the highest court to bring up this issue before the Central government. The directions were issued while a Supreme Court bench made up of Justices BR Gavai and CT Ravikumar began hearing the appeal.

 When a curative appeal filed by Roots in Kashmir was continuing, the Supreme Court heard the NGO’s argument. In that petition, it was asked that the CBI or the NIA look into genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the years 1989–1990. The Supreme Court then declared: “The instances referred in the petition pertain to the year 1989-90, and more than 27 years have passed by since then. No fruitful purpose would emerge, as the evidence is unlikely to be available at this late juncture.”

The organisation cited a Delhi High Court ruling from 2018 regarding Sajjan Kumar, a suspect in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, when it filed the curative case. The Delhi High Court had upheld the appeal and had said: “It is essential to assure the numerous victims waiting patiently that, despite the difficulties, truth will win and justice will be done.”

In petition by ‘Roots in Kashmir’ claimed that 215 first information reports (FIRs) had been filed in connection with the murder of more than 700 Kashmiri Pandits. Out of which none of the cases had been resolved rationally.

However, the petition was dismissed by the supreme court at the time on the grounds that more than 27 years had passed since the incident, making it unlikely that any proof would be accessible.

Later, the review and curative petitions against the dismissal order from July 2017 were also dismissed.