The hearing on the Jan Sangharsh Manch petition, seeking a direction from the Gujarat High Court to the G. T. Nanavati–Akshay Mehta judicial inquiry commission, to summon Chief Minister Narendra Modi for cross-examination, has been re-scheduled for June 25.
As the case re-opened on Thursday after about two months adjournment, the State government pleader sought a week's time to submit the status report about the “decision” of the Commission on summoning Mr. Modi.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S. J. Mukhopadhyaya and Justice Akil Kureshi granted the government time till June 25 to submit the report.
The Manch, which was representing the 2002 communal riot victims before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission, approached the High Court for a direction after the Commission refused to accept its plea for summoning Mr. Modi and six others, including the then Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Jhadaphia, and some senior bureaucrats and police officers.
The Commission had only asked three personal secretaries of the Chief Minister to file affidavits detailing their mobile phone conversations with some of the accused and the political leaders.
‘No final decision'
To a question by the High Court whether it had taken a “final decision” not to summon Mr. Modi, the Commission had told the Bench through the government pleader that it had not taken a “final decision” on the issue.
Before adjourning the hearing and other pressing issues for summer vacation, the High Court had directed the Commission to make its stand clear on the issue on Thursday when the hearing was scheduled to resume, but the government pleader told the Bench that Justice Nanavati was out of town for sometime and would need at least a week's time to take a decision on the issue.
