People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

Modi Govt: In The Dock Again

THE Supreme Court has once again made a welcome intervention to see that the rule of law and justice prevails in Gujarat. The court has ordered the Gujarat government to review the cases filed in connection with the communal violence of 2002 which were closed by the police on the grounds that the culprits identity is not clear or that they cannot be traced.  The police had closed more than 2,000 cases filed after the post-Godhra pogroms. For the review the court has asked the state government to set up a committee consisting of senior police officials headed by the director general of police. The court has asked the Advocate General to appear before it to explain why appeals against acquittals by trial courts were not filed in a large number of cases.

This timely intervention by the court is yet another confirmation that justice has not been done in the horrific crimes committed against the Muslim community. The Modi government who connived and supported the pogrom is being exposed time and again for resorting to cover-ups to protect the gangs unleashed by the BJP-RSS combine. In the Best Bakery case, the court denounced the way the case was conducted by the prosecution and transferred the case out of Gujarat. In the Bilkis case also the court has shifted the case to Maharashtra. The latest decision to review the closed cases is important, as many of the first information reports lodged were not properly investigated as the police was under pressure from the ruling party not to proceed with the cases.

The committee set up consists only of the police officials serving under the Modi government.  Since there are no other independent authorities involved in the review, there is every possibility of another attempt at a cover-up. It will therefore be necessary for the court to closely monitor how the review is being undertaken. It is a good sign that the court has asked the director general of police to report every three months on the progress made.

While the highest court is displaying commendable alertness at the travesty of justice in Gujarat, the UPA government must also take the necessary steps to see that the transgressions by the Modi government in the administrative sphere are checked. The central government must immediately initiate measures for this.