The Supreme Court of India (SCI) directed the Panjab govt. to consider providing alternative accommodations for 39 families who have been occupying flats in Phase-9, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar, Panjab for nearly 40 years. The flats were meant for 1984 Sikh genocide victims. Families who fled Delhi’s Jahangir Puri violence lack official victim red cards. Authorities maintain that these families are ‘unlawful occupants’. Previously, a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court resulted in an order on 23 Feb 2011 preventing the petitioners’ dispossession until their red card claims were decided by the Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar. After scrutiny, the petitioners were deemed ‘not genuine victims’. Subsequent eviction notices were challenged, leading to the present appeal in the SCI. On 6 Dec the SCI also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to respond to Balwan Khokhar’s plea seeking suspension of his sentence in the 1984 Sikh genocide case. 66-year-old Khokhar was convicted alongside former INC MP Sajjan Kumar. Meanwhile, on 16 Dec, a Delhi court is expected to deliver its verdict in another 1984 Sikh genocide case against Sajjan Kumar. Concurently, leaders of Birmingham City Council and Derby City Council, UK appealed to Deputy British Prime Minister Angela Rayner, requesting an inquiry into Britain’s involvement in Operation Blue Star—the India's 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple).
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