In a major boost to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking his examination by two-member Nanavati-Mehta Commi-ssion probing post-Godhra riots, saying such questions of law could not be decided on the basis of the stature of a “personality”.
“These questions of law (whom the commission should summon) should not be decided on the basis of a personality,” a bench of Justices D.K. Jain and A.R. Dave said while declining to interfere in Gujarat high court order rejecting a petition by an NGO to seek a direction to the probe panel to summon Mr Modi for examining his alleged role in the post-Godhra riots.
The bench rejected the petition by NGO activist Amrish Patel, explaining that the courts have no power to interfere in the day-to-day proceedings of the inquiry commissions as that would defeat the entire purpose of setting the probe panels.
“We can’t judge the evidence before the commission or the correctness of its order till it passes the final order. If the court starts examining the particulars in a piece meal basis on every order of the commission, then how the inquiry will be completed,” the apex court told Colin Gonsalves, counsel for Mr Patel. The top court said during the course of inquiry hundreds of applications are filed before the panel.
“If we start interfering at every stage, the purpose of the inquiry will not be achieved, Should we start monitoring probe by the commission? Can we start judicial review of the commission of inquiry orders... It will be overreach by the courts,” the bench said.
Mr Gonsalves claimed that 20 to 25 persons, including some police officers have given “sufficient evidence” to the inquiry commission comprising of Justices G.T. Nanavait and Akshey Mehta but the panel, rejected their applications “arbitrarily”, saying there was no evidence against the chief minister.
Sensing the mood of the court, Mr Gonsalves offered to withdraw the petition after arguing if for nearly half-an-hour and the bench declared it “dismissed as withdrawn”. Meanwhile, another bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra sought a “proper affidavit” from state’s senior IPS officer Kuldip Sharma who had accused Mr Modi of passed certain orders during the riots probe, which according to him, affected the action by the police.