Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt on Friday criticised the Nanavati Commission saying that in its interim report it exonerated Chief Minister Narendra Modi by way of a clear overreach of its mandate.
In his submission before the Commission, Bhatt said, "It has come to my knowledge that the Commission, during the submission of its interim report, had by way of a clear overreach of the mandate, as provided under the original terms of reference, went on to exonerate the Chief Minister."
"Further, even while disposing of the application on September 18, 2009 of Jan Sangharsh Manch, the Commission has stated that the Commission was of the opinion that there was no material to summon the Chief Minister," he said.
"It is respectfully stated that this opinion of the Commission, way back in 2009, on an application submitted in the year 2007, was not only unwarranted but patently premature and in disregard of the material already having come on record of the Commission," he further said.
Bhatt then went on to repeat his demand that Modi should be called for the questioning by the Commission for his role in the 2002 riots.(More)
"This apparent reluctance of the Commission to inquire into the role and functions of the Chief Minister as specifically mandated by the terms of reference as amended by the State of Gujarat along with the premature haste shown in exonerating the Chief Minister from time to time in flagrant disregard of the mandate under which the present Commission is required to function, cannot inspire confidence in the minds of the public at large and specifically the victims of the 2002 communal riots," Bhatt said further.
It may be noted here that the riot panel in 2008 had submitted one part of its findings pertaining to the Godhra train burning incident where it had concluded that the incident of setting afire S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station was a pre-planned conspiracy.
In that report, the Commission had given a clean chit to Modi of any wrongdoings during the riots.
