The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : High Court notice to Rajasthan Chief Secretary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

Other States

Other States - Rajasthan

High Court notice to Rajasthan Chief Secretary

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, OCT. 13. The Rajasthan High Court has issued notice to the State Chief Secretary, R.K. Nair -- asking him to be present in the court on November 4 -- on a petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against him for the State Government's failure to table in the Assembly the report of the Justice S.K. Lodha Commission which had probed into the infamous Kumher massacre of 1992.

The High Court had on September 9, 2002, directed the State Government to lay the Lodha Commission's report in the Assembly as early as possible, while observing that the report had been submitted in August 1996 and the matter had already been delayed.

Eight years later the report, which probed into the circumstances that led to the massacre of 17 Dalits by a mob of `upper castes' in Kumher town of Bharatpur district on June 6, 1992, is yet to be tabled in the Assembly despite the High Court direction.

"The inaction of the respondents in not complying with the High Court's direction is a deliberate and wilful disobedience and disrespect to the court's orders,'' claimed the petition, moved by P.L. Mimroth, general secretary of the Society of Depressed People for Social Justice.

Mr. Mimroth pointed out that the State Government had, one after the other, also granted pardon to officers who were found guilty in the Lodha Commission's report. The Commission had indicted five officials for failing to anticipate the incident and take steps to control the violence.

The previous Congress-led Government had decided to drop charges against the guilty officials, saying that two of them had retired and the matter had become obsolete. Successive Governments have not shown any interest in making the Commission's findings public.

The petition stated that the High Court had taken suo motu cognisance in September last year of the State Government giving clean chit to the guilty officials. The court had said that the Government needed to give logical and valid reasons if it refused to accept the recommendations of a Commission.

The massacre of Jatav Dalits in Kumher by burning them alive was described as the most heinous crime committed against Dalits in Rajasthan since Independence. About 600 Jatav families had fled the town following the carnage.

The then Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government had appointed the Commission of Inquiry, headed by the former High Court judge, Justice Lodha, to probe into the causes of massacre, look into the alleged failure of district administration and suggest ways to prevent similar incidents in future.

The Commission took about three years to complete the probe and submitted its report to the State Government in August 1996. Mr. Mimroth said he had reminded the Government of its responsibility to make the report public as well as the High Court's direction, but in vain.

The petition has also named the Principal Secretary, Home, Surendra Kumar, and the Home Secretary, Prem Singh Mehra, as the alleged contemners. A Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Justice S.K. Keshote and Justice Dilip Singh, issued the notices this past week.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Peaceful voting in Rajasthan

High Court notice to Rajasthan Chief Secretary