Gujurat, June 25: The Nanavati Commission on Friday submitted the status report to the Gujrat High Court on Monday.
The Nanavati Commission, probing the 2002 communal riots, today submitted the status report to the Gujarat High Court.
The sealed cover was handed over by government pleader Prakash Jani to a division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi during the hearing on a petition seeking cross examination of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and three others in the case.
The court while hearing the petition filed by Jan Sangarsh Manch (JSM), an NGO representing some of the post- Godhra riot victims last week, had asked the state government to furnish status report on the Commission’s work.
The court has scheduled further hearing on the matter for June 30.
Nanavati Commission, in September last year had rejected JSM’s application asking for summoning of Modi and three others, saying they did not find justification in cross- examining them at that point of time.
JSM then approached the High Court seeking quashing of the Nanavati Commission’s order in November 2009. However, a single bench of Justice K S Jhaveri dismissed its petition
saying that the Commission had not completed its inquiry and still had the power to summon Modi.
Following this, JSM filed an appeal before a division bench of the Gujarat High Court.
The state government had last week extended the term of the Commission, comprising retired Justices G T Nanavati and Justice Akshay Mehta, for the 14th time till December 31
The Nanavati Commission had told the High Court during hearing in the matter on April 1 that its decision of September, 2009, of not summoning Modi was “not final”.
The Commission, appointed by the state government on March 3, 2002, under the Commission of Inquiry Act, was formed after wide-spread communal riots in the state in wake of the Godhra train burning incident on February 27, 2002.
Initially the terms of reference (TOR) of Commission was to inquire into the burning of S6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station, which was later amended in June 2002 to include incidents of violence that took place after the Godhra train burning incident.
—Agencies