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Thackeray arrest: SC ruling puts onus on state government

Amberish K Diwanji in Delhi

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the central government to file an affidavit declaring that the latter had no locus standi in the matter of implementing the Srikrishna Commission report. It also directed the Maharashtra government counsel that there should be no "reassessment" of the Srikrishna Commission report even as the state government conducts "further investigations."

This, Supreme Court advocates felt, puts the onus on the Maharashtra government as far as taking any action against any person named in the Srikrishna Commission report is concerned, including the arrest of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

The Srikrishna Commission was set up to inquire into the December 1992-January 1993 communal riots that broke out in Bombay and claimed over a thousand lives.

Chief Justice of India A S Anand also condemned comments by a Cabinet minister for speaking on the case that is sub judice and before the highest court of the land. "Does this government understand the principle of collective responsibility?" he asked Soli Sorabjee, the attorney general of India who was representing the Union of India.

The Chief Justice was referring to certain comments made by Union Minister for Law and Justice Ram Jethmalani, himself a noted lawyer. Jethmalani had said the Centre could intervene in the case under Article 257 of the Constitution. He further said Thackeray could not be prosecuted since the matter was more than three years old.

The attorney general categorically stated that the Centre had no intention of issuing any direction to the Maharashtra government as far as taking action against individuals named in the Srikrishna Commission report was concerned.

To this, Chief Justice Anand asked Sorabjee to file an affidavit making the central government's position clear.

The Chief Justice also expressed anguish at the way the Srikrishna Commission report had been treated by the Maharashtra government. "Is this the respect you show to an inquiry conducted by a sitting judge?" he asked advocates for the Maharashtra government.

Counsel for the Maharashtra government replied that the state administration had the highest respect for the findings and conclusions reached by Justice B K Srikrishna, a judge at the Bombay high court, and that it was committed to further investigating the matter and taking the necessary action, including registering of cases.

The Chief Justice then emphasised that "further investigation cannot mean reassessing" the findings and conclusions of the case, which must be accepted.

"If a inquiry reports says that for XYZ that happened, ABC is prima facie responsible, then it is for the government to register cases and its investigation must include the findings of the commission," the CJI declared.

The Supreme Court also adjourned the case for six weeks. The date will be notified later.

Lawyers, who heard the case, said as per the Supreme Court's decision, the state government will have to respect the Srikrishna Commission's conclusions and was free to take any action.

"With the Centre declaring that it has no intention of intervening in the matter, it is now for the state government to decide the next course of action," said Anis Suhrawardy, advocate for the petitioner, the Action Commission for the Implementation of the Srikrishna Commission Report.

One of the petitioners in the case is Mohammed Arif Khan, currently Maharashtra's minister of state for food supplies. Khan said the Maharashtra government was committed to booking all the guilty, no matter how important they may be. "No person is above the law," he declared.

However, Additional Advocate General of Maharashtra P Janardhan said a chargesheet and a first information report has to be filed before Thackeray is arrested.

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