Nanavati Panel judge dies, report may be delayed further

MORE DELAYS: The state government is silent over the appointment of Justice Shah's replacement.

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Television, for politicians with a vision

Featured Slideshows

Related Headlines

powered by

• Wait begins for part two of Nanavati's Godhra report
• Controversial ex-judge joins Gujarat riots probe
• Godhra riots issue back ahead of poll

Keywords: Gujarat, Justice Shah

Ahmedabad: It has been more than six years since the Justice Nanavati-Shah Commission was set up by the Gujarat government to probe the 2002 riots in the state.

With the death of Justice K G Shah last week, the commission's report could now be further delayed. The state government surprisingly, is still silent over the appointment of Justice Shah's replacement.

Advocate of Jansangharsh Manch, Mukul Sinha says, "This appointment, and any controversy that will arise out of it, will surely further delay the work of this commission."

• Initially only Justice KG Shah was appointed on the commission.
• But later Justice G T Nanavati was made the chairman of the panel.
• This decision has been challenged in the Gujarat High Court.
• The commission, set up in March 2002 has already got eight extensions, and has almost completed the hearings.
• There is also speculation that the government might not appoint a new member at all.
• The NGO that represents riot victims insists the replacement will have to be made.

Sinha says, "According to our understanding of the law, they have to either appoint a replacement or this commission will cease to exist."

The Justice Nanavati-Shah Commission is already into its eighth extension period and the appointment of a replacement to Justice Shah is been seen as an indicator of how fair its findings will be.