SC declines urgent hearing on PIL for SIT probe into Saharanpur violence

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider urgently a PIL for a probe under supervision of a High Court judge into the violence in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

A vacation bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha said that there was no urgency and the petition, filed by advocate Gaurav Yadava, could be heard after the summer vacations.

Yadava mentioned the matter before the bench, contending that there was complete failure of law and order as the local administration failed to control the violence involving upper caste 'Thakur' and Dalit in the Western UP district, situated less than 200 kms from Delhi. 

The petitioner sought direction to set up a special investigation team headed by a sitting HC judge to "conduct fair, impartial and independent investigation



to unearth the truth and ensure perpetrators were brought to book". He also sought compensation to all those who died and suffered injuries or loss to their properties.

"The people of Dalit communities are forced and compelled to leave their houses and shift to safer places which is gross violation of fundamental rights of innocent people," Yadava contended.

On May 5, 2017, riots took place at Shabbirpur Village, Saharanpur and the people of upper caste community torched several houses of the people belonging to Dalits, 20 vehicles were burnt and the valuable from their houses were stolen. Around 30 to 40 peoples were still missing and around 150 have left their villages to the safer places due to insecurity to their life and property as the violence still continued to erupt, the petitioner claimed.