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CJP |
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CJP |
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Gujarat Riots |
Crime Against Humanity
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Report of Activities for the period
As Secretary I have filed regular reports and updates for members of CJP. These have been updates on legal action, analysis of the situation in Gujarat as well as sanctions for administrative expenditure, legal expenditures and sanctions for relief and rehabilitation.
Annexure 1 to this report briefly details legal action briefs. Annexure 2 gives us all in a nutshell the relief and rehabilitation disbursals by CJP. (These are not complusory reads but may be useful to each one of you for ready reference).
LEGAL ACTION1. Relief Camps. Two Petitions Ensuring State liability for Food/Water/Heath and Daily Expenses to the Refugees forced into Relief Camps by the Violence all over Gujarat. An estimated 1,75,000 persons were brutally displaced out of home and hearth due to the carnage last year and unable to return back until August 2002. Some Over 25,000 are among the permanently displaced. These two petitions, the first hearing for which Senior Counsel, Aspi Chinoy flew down from Mumbai, accrued in a total monetary relief, for the camps of Rs. 10 crores. Shri Aspi Chinoy, Shri Suhel Tirmizi and Shri Nirupam Nanavati appeared in these and related matters.
2. Petition for Impartial Investigation: The CJP filed a PIL in the Supreme Court in March 2003 demanding transfer of investigation of nine crucial carnage cases to the CBI. Senior counsel, Shri Anil Doivan appeared for the CJP. Mihir Desai assisted us in the case. Since filing the case and notices being issued to the State of Gujarat, Muslims aparna Bhatt on behalf of CJP has filed four written applications urging urgent hearing but the SC unfortunately kept shunting it off. It has now been clubbed along with the NHRC-CJP special leave petitions in the BEST Bakery case. The unfortunate reality is that if the SC had taken adequate and immediate cognisance of this matter, for which I kept filing extensive and deeply researched status reports and affidavits (eight have been filed in the Hon. Supreme Court of India) showing the subversive process of trials in Gujarat, the shocking acquittals like in the BEST Bakery case, Kidiad and Pandharwada cases would not have taken place.
3. Citizens’ Tribunal: Gujarat 2002: A Citizens’ Tribunal consisting of retired judges and prominent citizens from different walks of life investigated the incident of arson at Godhra and the subsequent statewide violence that took lives, destroyed property and attacked cultural symbols and places of worship of sections of the population.The Tribunal sat for a fortnight beginning early May 2002 and conducted it's hearings in four locations cities of the violence-ridden state. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Justice P.B. Sawant, Justice Hosbet Suresh constituted the Tribunal among others Teesta Setalvad was Convenor of the Tribunal. The two-volume report of the Tribunal, Crimes Against Humanity—Gujarat 2002, was released in Ahmedabad on November 21, 2002. It created a nationwide impact and also made waves internationally. The deposition made, in confidence, before the Tribunal by a senior functionary of the Gujarat government regarding a confidential meeting held by chief minister Narendra Modi with a few ministers, the DGP, Ahmedabad and senior IAS men (on the evening of February 27, 2002, the day of the Godhra tragedy) where clear instructions were given to the law and order machinery not to contain or stop the anticipated Hindu reaction to Godhra has had wide ramifications. We have only 69 copies of the report left; have returned money for orders received since we need it for our legal action and need to consider a re-print urgently.
4. Intervention before the Gujarat-govt. appointed official commission of inquiry: To assist the team of lawyers formed to highlight before the commission the case of the victims and survivors of violence, the CJP, has since early 2003 been supporting a junior lawyer to watch the proceedings of the Commission. The CJP, CC along with six other groups helped 3,100 affidavits to be filed before the Nanavaty-Shah Commission of Inquiry. The presence of our independent lawyers gives confidence to the victim survivors who continue to be threatened in broad daylight.
5. Intervention in Criminal Trials: At least three criminal trials saw a direct intervention by CJP. These include the Gulberg trial, the Naroda Patia massacre and the Ghodasar and trials. Since the start of the Gulberg Society trial, CJP supported the appointment of Shri Dawood Desai as the watching advocate. From the start, the chargesheet was faulty (we filed applications complaining of this) and another application was made by us for proper investigation to the Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad. Witnesses have also put on record the fact that attempts are being made to intimidate witnesses through the inspector KG Erda. [Thereafter in this year,June 2003, the public prosecutor appointed by the state was one Chetan Shah, chargesheeted of burning alive 9 Muslims in 1985 --he was thereafter acquitted for lack of evidence. The State of Gujarat took no cognisance of this until after the BEST Bakery sensation in the SC and Chief Justice VN Khare’s remarks on September 12 this year sharply pulling up the government.]
6. Written Arguments in SC in Opposing Gujarat Elections Before a Constitutional Bench: CJP intervened in the Constitutional Bench Hearing on the matter of early elections in Gujarat in October 2002 and we filed written arguments arguing against early polls that were drafted by Secretary, Teesta Setalvad. Shri Colin Gonsalves appeared for us in the SC.
7. PIL on Hate Speech : We filed a PIL in the Supreme Court against working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shri Ashok Singhal and chief minister, Shri Narendra Modi, the union government, state governments of Gujarat and Punjab for not initiating action against them for perverse and venomous remarks that distinctly violate sections 153a, 153b, 295 and 505 of the IPC. Preparations for this and all petitions took months as it is only where there is substantive documentation and research that the courts entertain such cases at all. We began preparations in September last year and moved the SC in early February 2003. It is still pending before the SC and is also now before Chief Justice VN Khare.Senior counsel, Kapil Sibal appears for us in this matter.
8. PIL on Compensation Accountability/ Gujarat HC: Work was begun on a comprehensive petition and PIL on the issue of housing compensation in the Gujarat High Court in July 2002.. The Secretary personally recorded affidavits sitting in relief camps and then trained four activists on how to do the same. We moved the petition in the High Court in February this year. Senior advocate Mihir Thakore from Ahmedabad appeared for us with Mr Suhel tirmizi who has been doing all the leg-work on this and many other cases. To support the case, we have filed 700 affidavits detailing pathetically inadequate amounts in compensation. While the PM had committed Rs 150 crores in aid tot he violence affected in April 2002, the Gujarat government has only used/tapped Rs 77-plus crores and is adamantly refusing to access more. This PIL demands a detailed account of fund disbursals in compensation and is still pending; meetings with the chief secretary have taken place. PUBLIC ADVOCACY1. Public Advocacy/Making Institutions Accountable: Whether it was on representations to the Election Commission or the President of India, six despatches containing details have been filed by the CJP and CC that have been circulated to members. We are also in possession of memorandums by other groups and have consistently put these on the website and our list server. The EC delegation gave us three hearings during their first visit to the State in July-August 2002. CC published the 44-page CEC report on the Gujarat elections that provided a great impetus to registration of all legal voters, in GUJARATI. One thousand copies of this were sold all over Gujarat. The CJP/CC interventions resulted in the registration of over 12,900 voters who had been left out of the rolls either deliberately or due to displacement! CJP’s advocacy during the critical pre-election period was to regularly post details of any obvious irregularities to the CEC and SEC. Three such examples were about specific appointments of polling officers with political connections that were too close to the local MLA. In two of the three that we pointed out (all three were in Ahmedabad) we were successful in getting the suspect officers removed.
2. CJP and Khoj’s together co-ordinated with the National foundation for Communal Harmony on making accessible information of educational aid for children victims of violence who have lost one or both parents in the carnage. This is central government scheme for children affected by communal violence. Through the wide network that we have in Gujarat we distributed 280 forms and brochures on this scheme. The scheme involves registration, engagement and authentication of schooling details through the District Collector. Copies of the step-by-step method were distributed amongst victim relatives, parents and their children.
MEDIA EDUCATIONOver the past year and a half, I have engaged myself with the national and regional press preparing researched briefs and backgrounders on facts surrounding the legal action that we are involved in. This includes backgrounders on precedent-setting judgements, sections of the laws being debated and violated and readable gist of the various affidavits filed in the Supreme Court. This has made the whole issue of Gujarat come centre-stage with extremely worthwhile pieces being written.
Teesta Setalvad, Secretary
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