Father’s plea seeking declaration of son’s death in ’84 riots junked

New Delhi, November 19

A Delhi court has dismissed a plea seeking a declaration of a man, who went missing during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, as dead and issuance of his death certificate, citing lack of proof and contradictions.

No documentary proof on record

Despite being put a query by the court during final arguments, plaintiff did not bring on record any ID proof of Ajit Singh nor any kind of document which could satisfy the court about his identity and existence. Delhi Civil Judge

An 80-year-old man had moved the court, claiming that his son Ajit Singh came to Kashmere Gate in Delhi in the last week of October 1984 to purchase the motor parts but went missing after the anti-Sikh riots erupted in the first week of November.

Mian Singh, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, filed a civil suit seeking a declaration of his missing son as dead and a direction to North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Registrar of Births and Deaths to issue a death certificate.

Dismissing the suit, Civil Judge Helly Fur Kaur noted that there is nothing on record to show that Ajit Singh visited Delhi in the last week of October 1984.

“Despite being put a query by the Court during final arguments, plaintiff did not bring on record any ID proof of Ajit Singh nor any kind of document which could reasonably satisfy the court about his identity and existence,” the civil judge noted in an order dated November 18.

Further, the judge said the documents relied upon by Mian Singh consisted of a partly legible copy of the certificate issued by Prabandhak Committee Gurudwara Guru Nanak Satsang, a copy of a letter to the PM for rehabilitation, writ petitions, correspondence between Delhi Commission of Police, and SDM, J&K.

The judge noted that no missing report is available since the police refused to register the same and the one lodged with Delhi Administration got misplaced by Mian Singh. — PTI