By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: The Supreme Court stayed the Tsundur judgment delivered by Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday and also sent notices to all the convicts who were released and gave four weeks time to respond.

The AP High Court had quashed the trial court’s order in which 21 persons were sentenced to life and 35 others to one-year imprisonment in the brutal massacre of Dalits in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh in 1991.

The two judge bench Justices Madan B. Lokur and C. Nagappan heard two appeals filed in Tsundur case. The first appeal is to reverse the judgment delivered by the AP high court and the second appeal includes that the AP High Court judge did not hear all the appeals filed in relation to Tsundur. It has been alleged that the High Court chose one appeal filed by the convicts and gave judgment without hearing any other appeals.

The appellant has also urged the Supreme Court to stay any kind of hearing in those appeals in the AP High Court, which was not heard earlier.

The first appeal was filed by the State Government for which retired Chief Justice M N Rao appeared. Subsequently another private appeal was filed by Bojja Tarakam.

After hearing the argument the Supreme Court has stayed 5 appeals which were to be heard in the AP high court soon. The 5 appeals were to increase the punishment for those in which the Tsundur special court delivered judgment.

The Special Court had not delivered the judgment under SC/ST Act, they petitioner said. After seeing the travesty of justice in the high court, Dalit rights groups approached the Supreme Court

On August 6, 1991, eight dalits were brutally massacred. On August 6, dalit movements in AP are organizing different programmes to remember and brutality. The Tsundur solidarity committee is organizing a rally from Guntur to Tsundur. The rally starts on 5th August and ends on 6th August in Tsundur.