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No confidence in Modi

When complex criminal trials are held in every State without supervision from outside, the fact that Gujarat is not trusted by the Supreme Court to prosecute those responsible for the 2002 riots is a slap in the face of the Narendra Modi administration. Thanks to the partisanship and even involvement of the State administration and its officials during the horrific anti-Muslim violence — and the refusal of the BJP-led government at the Centre to intervene on the side of the Constitution and humanity — the apex court became the sole refuge of the victims. In the 1984 anti-Sikh massacres, the police in Delhi either refused to record First Information Reports or registered such vague and contradictory cases that the courts found it impossible to proceed. In Gujarat, the authorities went once step further. Slipshod cases based on shoddy investigation were rushed through the courts, leading to speedy acquittals. When the Best Bakery case ended in a fiasco, the Supreme Court ordered its shifting out of Gujarat. It had to intervene again in the Bilkis Bano case. By enabling an honest investigation and prosecution, the highest court in the land ensured that justice was finally done in those two instances. And it went one step further by taking note of 14 other cases and appointing an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-examine all those incidents where the local police had filed hasty closure reports or failed to apprehend the guilty.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to allow the trial of the 14 cases to take place inside Gujarat is a vote of confidence in the Modi administration. Nothing could be further from the truth. Given the administrative and financial burden involved in transferring cases wholesale to another State, the Supreme Court wisely chose the most practical option: keep the trials in Gujarat but empower the SIT to run the show. By giving it powers of oversight and even a veto in the appointment of prosecutors, the court has made it clear the BJP government in Gujarat is not to be trusted. What is more, responsibility for protection of witnesses has been taken out of the hands of the local police and handed over to the Central government. Finally, perhaps in anticipation of a possible change of policy at the Centre, the court has said it would continue to monitor the cases closely and reserved the right to transfer the criminal proceedings out of the State in future. The costs of the law’s delays have been spotlighted in Gujarat but all things considered, the Supreme Court of India has acted commendably to ensure that justice is finally done. None of this would have been necessary had the State and Central governments faithfully discharged their constitutional obligations in 2002.

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