Ahmedabad: Gujarat Health Minister
Jaynarayan Vyas on Thursday termed the remarks of Union HRD Minister
Kapil Sibal on the Nanavati Commission here yesterday as an
insult to the country`s judicial system.
"Kapil Sibal`s allegation regarding the Nanavati
Commission is an insult to the judicial mechanism of the
nation," said Vyas, who is also the state government
spokesperson.
The Union Minister`s comments are unfair and it is also
an insult to the Supreme Court, as the probe panels are headed
by retired judges of the Supreme Court, he added.
The Union Minister yesterday expressing displeasure over
the slow progress in cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots had said
that there were chances of evidence getting destroyed as the
Nanavati Commission was taking too long to submit its
findings.
"The allegations made by a senior advocate like Sibal has
raised questions over the credibility of the judicial
system in India," Vyas said.
Nanavati Commission was formed in accordance to the
recommendations of the Apex court. It is the only commission
appointed by a state government which takes even the Chief
Minister and other ministers under its ambit, Vyas said.
The Commission has already examined 44,445 affidavits,
questioned more than 1,000 witnesses. It submitted Part-1 of
its report in 2008, he informed.
"It is surprising that a senior advocate like Sibal has
not even looked at the working of Commission before making
such comments," Vyas said.
Providing details of the time taken by various probe
panels during the Congress regime, Vyas said that the Justice
Marwaha Commission and Mishra Commission probing into the
anti-Sikh riots of 1984 took 13-17 years, to come out with a
report.
Proceedings of the commission looking into Bhagalpur
riots of 1989 went on for 21 years and yet trials are still
pending in 26 cases, which were reopened in 2006, he said.
"The commission examining Mumbai riots of 1992 spent 14
to 19 years in hearings, while the commission probing Rajiv
Gandhi`s assassination took several years to come up with a
report," Vyas said.
Likewise what was the outcome of Reddy Commission which
was constituted to probe into communal riots of 1969, Vyas
said.
PTI
