DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of 88 people by a trial court in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh genocide in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri area.

The convicts had challenged the August 27, 1996 judgement of a Sessions Court which had convicted 88 out of the 107 people arrested on 2 November 1984 for rioting, burning houses and curfew violation in Trilokpuri area of East Delhi. Justice R K Gauba directed all the convicts to surrender within four weeks.

According to the FIR lodged in connection with the Trilokpuri killings, 95 people died in the massacre and 100 houses were burnt, said senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, who has been representing the genocide victims.

Convicting all the 88 for various offences including rioting, the trial court sentenced them to five years in jail.

A Delhi court earlier on November 20, sentenced to death one of the two convicts found guilty of killing two Sikh men during the 1984 genocide, the first capital punishment in the case. The other convict was sentenced to life in prison.

Yashpal Singh was given death penalty whereas, Naresh Sehrawat was awarded life imprisonment for killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in south Delhi’s Mahipalpur during the genocide.

On November 14, the court had convicted Yashpal and Naresh for killing two Sikh men during the 1984 anti-Sikh rgenocide — the first conviction in the cases reopened by the SIT.

The court held both the accused guilty under various sections including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 395 (dacoity) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC.