The Hindu : National : Large number of summary investigations in Gujarat riot cases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004

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National

Large number of summary investigations in Gujarat riot cases

By Jyotirmaya Sharma

The Supreme Court's direction on Monday ordering a fresh investigation and trial outside Gujarat in the Best Bakery case might open a can of worms for the Gujarat Government. Already under severe pressure from the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission, the State Government had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court on January 28, 2004, admitting that the total number of riot cases registered were 4,256 as against 3,912 mentioned in the intervention application filed on December 12, 2003 by Harsh Mandar in the NHRC vs. the State of Gujarat case (Writ Petition No. (CRI.) 109 of 2003).

In the affidavit, the Gujarat Government denied that there was "any attempt, planned, systematic or otherwise... to deny justice to the victims of the widespread communal riots that had engulfed the State in the aftermath of the Godhra incident." The document argues that it would not be judicious to shift the cases outside Gujarat because of the quantum of cases, as well as the poor financial condition of the people accused. It points to the "social implications" of doing so and the "prejudice likely to be caused to the accused in their defence."

The matter that would be of special concern to the apex court as well as human rights organisations is the large number of summary investigations against the cases registered. The affidavit admits that the correct number of such cases was 2,108 out of a total of 4,256. In certain cities, the number of summary investigations is almost half the number of cases registered. For example, out of the 961 cases registered in Ahmedabad city, summary reports were filed for 427 cases. In Vadodara city, 206 out of 617 cases were instances of summary investigations, while in Vadodara rural, 152 summary reports were submitted for the 242 cases registered. The statistics in Bhavnagar weigh in favour of summary reports that number 267 against the 310 cases registered.

In the case of summary reports, the Gujarat Government maintains in the affidavit that "conviction or acquittal depends on the nature of evidence furnished by the prosecution and defence witnesses, and a low conviction rate per se cannot lead to an inference of faulty investigation and/or weak prosecution, and certainly cannot be the basis for transferring the riot cases outside the State of Gujarat." The document also dismisses allegations of intimidation and enticing of witnesses as something not "on record" and hence not worthy of investigation.

Another reason given in the affidavit for not registering and investigating cases, especially under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, was that conspiracy to riot in many instances could not be established. This was so because the "communal backlash was marked by spontaneity in response to the gruesome incident of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra."

Similarly, in cases involving members and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bajrang Dal, the affidavit speaks of lack of "independent and sufficient evidence."

The Supreme Court on Monday thought otherwise and indicted the judicial criminal administration system in Gujarat while transferring the Best Bakery trial to Maharashtra.

The fate of the other cases in the absence of a free and fair trial within Gujarat is a question that will eventually have to concern the Supreme Court.

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