The convicts had challenged the 27 August 1996 judgment of a sessions court that 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.

After the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, the next couple of days witnessed widespread rioting and killings of Sikhs in the national capital.

According to the FIR lodged in connection with the Trilokpuri incident, 95 people had died in the rioting and 100 houses were burnt, said senior advocate H S Phoolka, who has been representing the riot victims in various matters.