The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Gujarat Government to constitute within 10 days a special investigation team (SIT) to re-investigate the post-Godhra communal riots. A Bench, headed by Justice Arjit Pasayat, said the SIT would submit its report in a sealed cover to the court within three months.The SIT would be free to evoke its own modalities for carrying out investigations into the cases, the court said. The team would comprise ex-CBI chief R K Raghavan and former DG of UP Police C D Satpathy, besides three IPS officers from Gujarat — Geeta Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia. While Raghavan would be the chairman of the team, Johri would be the convener. The Bench ordered that victims or witnesses might approach the SIT that will record their statements.The SC termed the 2002 riots as the worst ever witnessed in the country and said religious fanatics were “worse than terrorists”. “If in the name of religion people are repudiated, this is a slur on the society being governed by the Constitution of India which has secularism in its preamble. Religious fanatics clearly do not belong to any religion,” it said. The apex court appreciated the stance of Gujarat Government in not objecting to the setting up of a SIT. “The State of Gujarat has suggested that it has no objection if further investigation is done, so that people’s faith in the transparency in the administration of justice is fortified,” it pointed out, while appreciating the stand taken by senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi on behalf of the state.Curiously Rohtagi’s arguments on Tuesday were in total contrast to the stand taken by the state since 2003, when the NHRC filed a petition seeking transfer of the trial outside Gujarat and re-investigation by an independent agency. It had filed the petition after several witnesses turned hostile amid allegations of threat, coercion and inducement.
