Prayagraj, March 26 -- The Allahabad high court has rejected petitions filed by nine accused seeking quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against them pertaining to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur. Describing the mass violence following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as a 'genocide' and a 'crime against humanity', the high court said that delay in recording witness statements and the unavailability of original police records cannot be grounds to quash the proceedings. Justice Anish Kumar Gupta on March 24 dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by the accused seeking quashing of criminal proceedings pending against them before the chief judicial magistrate, Kanpur Nagar. The common feature in all cases was that FIRs were lodged immediately after the incidents; however, in all cases, final reports were submitted exonerating all the accused. Later, the central government appointed the Justice Nanavati Commission to inquire into the anti-Sikh riots cases. Afterwards, the Supreme Court appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. Pursuant to the aforesaid directions, investigations were carried out, witnesses were examined, and subsequently, charge sheets were filed against the applicants, whereupon the concerned court took cognizance in all the cases. Challenging the criminal proceedings, the applicants argued before the bench that since the original records (FIRs, final reports, post-mortem reports, etc) of the case were unavailable, an effective trial could not occur. It was further contended that witness statements recorded by the SIT cast serious doubt on their identities and violated their right to a fair procedure under Article 21 of the Constitution. On the other hand, counsel for the state government opposed the petitions, arguing that the Supreme Court had taken judicial notice of these crimes against humanity and deliberately constituted the SIT to reinvestigate the cases, despite knowing that the original records were missing. The state government counsel also relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Sajjan Kumar vs CBI, wherein the trial court was directed to proceed with the trial, and it was held that the entire proceedings of the cases cannot be closed merely on the ground of delay. The high court observed, "The incident in the instant case is part of larger chain of incidents which have taken place against the Sikh community throughout the country after the assassination of late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. The nature of the incidents was like a genocide against a particular community in which various innocent persons were killed, ablazed alive, house and properties were burnt, destroyed and looted and such a large scale crime, committed against humanity gone unnoticed and in almost all such cases, the final reports were submitted in a hurried manner to save various accused persons, who were involved in the incident." The high court further noted that, fully aware of the non-availability of records, the Supreme Court had directed the reinvestigation of cases where FIRs could be reconstructed. Taking into account the reconstructed FIRs and the categorical witness testimonies identifying the accused as part of the violent mob, the high court concluded that a prima facie case was clearly made out against the applicants. The court observed, "It is settled position of law that the constitutional courts have jurisdiction to direct re-investigation or de-novo investigation in any case. Thus, after taking judicial notice of crime against humanity, the apex court has directed the investigation in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, which were identified by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the apex court." "Therefore, on the basis of the material collected in the re-examination/further investigation in the matter, this Court is of the opinion that the prima facie case is made out against the applicants herein as there is sufficient material to show involvement of the applicants herein as well as the identity of the applicants herein. Merely because the long time has passed during the incident and the investigation, that cannot be a ground for quashing of the proceedings of the instant case." A total of 1,251 riots-related cases were registered in Kanpur-40 of them involved heinous crimes. Of these 40 cases, the police closed 29 by filing the final report in court till 1988. Charge sheets were filed in 11 cases. During the trial, all the accused were acquitted for want of evidence. Later, some Sikh bodies approached the Supreme Court, which ordered an SIT to investigate the heinous crimes. The SIT was formed in May 2019....