Nanavati Commission submit final report on Gujarat riots
The two-member commission consisting of Justices (retired) G T Nanavati and Akshay Mehta probing into the 2002 Godhra Train Burning incident and the subsequent communal riots was given extensions 24 times in the past ever since it was constituted on March 6, 2002 by the then Modi government.
The final report of the commission on the 2002 riots, in which more than 1,000 people - mostly of a minority community - were killed, comes after extensive investigation which ran over a period of more than 12 years. Last month, Justice Nanavati had said that, "There is no need to seek 25th extension, as our final report is ready. It is now being printed and will come to us in coming days. We will submit the report to the government soon."
In 2008, the inquiry panel had submitted one part of its finding with regard to the Godhra train burning incident, in which it had concluded that the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station was a "planned conspiracy." Initially, the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the commission were to inquire into the facts, circumstances and course of events that led to the burning of the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express.
The panel had been constituted by the state government on March 3, 2002, under the Commission of Inquiry Act, comprising Justice KG Shah in the wake of the Godhra train carnage on February 27, 2002, and the subsequent communal riots across the state.
In May 2002, the state government appointed retired Supreme Court Justice GT Nanavati as the chairman of the commission and the TOR were further amended in June 2002, as per which the panel was also asked to inquire the incidents of violence that took place after the Godhra incident.
