A court here Thursday sentenced nine people, including four women, to three years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with a 1984 riot case in the capital.
The riot had occurred at Azad Market in Sabzi Mandi area in north Delhi on Nov 1, 1984, in the wake of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi the day before.
The accused have appealed the court's order.
The court, however, acquitted a tenth accused for lack of evidence.
The Bara Hindu Rao police station had registered the case on a complaint by Prakash Kaur, whose crockery shop the accused had looted during the riot and later taken possession of.
All nine accused were neighbours of Kaur and belong to the same family.
Sentencing the accused -- Bhawan Dass, Uday Ram, Bhagwan Dai, Ashi Devi, Omprakash, Kishan, Munni Devi, Kishori and Sheela -- Additional Sessions Judge S.N. Dhingra said: "I consider the accused persons are liable to be convicted of the offence under...the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for committing theft of the articles of Ms. Prakash Kaur as well as...for committing forcible trespass into her property".
However, the court allowed bail for all the convicts because the quantum of the sentence is three years, which is bailable.
The accused are still in possession of Kaur's shop despite a court order to hand it over to her.
Rejecting a plea by counsel for the accused that a lenient view be taken of the offence since his clients had been undergoing trial for 20 years, Dhingra said: "Taking any lenient view against the accused shall amount to putting premium on the crime."
--Indo-Asian News Service