Nanavati panel submits final report on Guj riots to CM Patel

After 12 years since its formation and 24 extensions, the Justice Nanavati Commission today submitted its second and final report on the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, in which more than 1000 people, mostly from a minority community were killed, to Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
The panel, comprising the supreme court justice (retd) G T Nanavati and the high court justice (retd) Akshay Mehta, drove to the residence of Patel and submitted the report to her, officials at the Chief Minister's Office said.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission included to probe the role of the all the state functionaries, including the then chief minister, his cabinet colleagues, senior government and police officers, along with members of the right-wing organisations, during the 2002 riots.

"We have submitted the report, which runs into more than 2,000 pages," Justice Nanavati told PTI.
"The final report of Nanavati Commission formed to probe the 2002 Sabarmati train coach burning and subsequent riots has been submitted to the chief minister," the officials said.
The Commission in its first report submitted in 2008 had concluded that incident of the Godhra train burning was a "pre-planned conspiracy and not an accident" and had given a clean chit to the then chief minister Narendra Modi, the incumbent Prime Minister, and his ministers.

Meanwhile, refusing to divulge details of the second and final report regarding the finding on the role of the then state administration, Justice Nanavati today said doing so would be the breach of conditions set by the Legislative Assembly for the commission.

"I cannot say anything on the contents of the report as it would be the breach of conditions of Legislative Assembly. I have submitted it (the report) and now it is up to the state government to make it public or not," Nanavati said.
When asked about the delay in submitting the report, he said, "All that has been dealt with in the report, so one has to go through the report."
However, he later said that the panel had to wait for the investigation report of the SIT (appointed by the Supreme Court), which had probed the 2002 riot cases.

"The supreme court has passed the order restraining the SIT from producing those papers before the commission and that continued for about 2 to 2.5 years," Nanavati said.