NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday ordered the framing of charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Pul Bangash Sikh killings case. Special Judge Rakesh Syal, presiding over the case, said there is “sufficient material” to proceed with charges against Tytler.
The court has directed the framing of charges under several sections of the IPC, dealing with unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, disobedience to an order, defiling place of worship), murder and abetment.
However, Tytler has been discharged under Section 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) of the IPC. The court has scheduled the formal framing of charges for September 13, and Tytler has been directed to appear on that date.
The case traces back to the violence that erupted in Delhi following the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984. On November 1, 1984, a mob gathered near the Pul Bangash gurdwara, leading to the deaths of three people.
According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI in May 2023, Tytler, a former Union minister, is accused of inciting the mob with inflammatory remarks. The chargesheet details testimony from a witness who alleged that Tytler arrived at the scene in a white Ambassador car and provoked the crowd. This incitement reportedly fueled the mob’s fury.
Last year, Tytler was granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court, requiring him to post a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh along with a surety of the same amount.