The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed the G.T. Nanavati Inquiry Commission, probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots, to give suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt access to all intelligence documents pertaining to the riots by Friday.
A High Court Bench, comprising Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, passed an order directing the Commission to let Mr. Bhatt inspect the documents, irrespective of whether they are classified or not.
Earlier, in 2012, Mr. Bhatt and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court seeking access to Godhra riot-related intelligence records from the Gujarat government. The PIL was moved after the Gujarat government refused to provide Bhatt with the documents.
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“Even after a directive was issued by the High Court in October 2012, my client was not allowed to see many crucial documents by the (Gujarat) government. Later, in 2013, we approached the High Court, once again, to direct the Nanavati Commission to give access to those intelligence documents submitted by Gujarat government,” Mr. Bhatt’s counsel Anand Yagnik said. He added that the Commission had refused access to the records saying that they were classified.