SRIKRISHNA COMMISSION REPORT - WILL IT BE IMPLEMENTED?
February 16-28, 2001
by Asghar Ali Engineer

As far as implementation of any riot report is concerned, Srikrishna Commission Report on Riots of 1992-93 in Bombay are concerned it is no different. It still remains unimplemented three years after its submission. All previous reports on riot have met with the same fate. Take for example, the Reddy Commission's Report on Ahmedabad riots of 1969. It was prepared so painstakingly by Justice Reddy and fixed the responsibility on concerned persons and parties and institutions for communal violence. But the then State government turned a blind eye to the main body of recommendations and suggestions and implemented some fringe suggestions like some on reforming police force etc.

Another significant report on communal riots was prepared by the Justice Madon Commission on Bhivandi-Jalgaon riots of 1970. It was in seven volumes and Justice Madon had worked very hard to get at the truth. In Bhivandi-Jalgaon riots also the Shiv Sena had participated in a big way. In those riots too the police had shown its anti-minority character and Justice Madon had reprimanded the police for its role and pointed out that the Bhivandi S.P. had forged the daily diaries to involve some minority leaders. Nothing happened and no action was taken against any police person or political leaders.

The human rights activists and secular forces had much appreciated the pains taken by Justice Srikrishna to compile the report and had spent months listening to hundreds of riot-affected people and sifting through their affidavits and other documents to dig out the truth to prepare his report. The Amnesty International officials had visited Mumbai when the hearings were going on before the Commission and in view of likely delay in submitting the final report had even suggested that an interim report be prepared and action be taken against the culprits on its basis. However, let alone action being taken on the basis of interim report in 1994 action against the culprits has not been taken even three years after the submission of the report and after change of the government.

The riots in Bombay were no ordinary riots. They were systematically organised by the Shiv Sena on an unprecedented scale. These riots had shaken the whole world in view of not only their scale but also the brutalities committed. To probe these riots and to stand the wrath of the Sena it required a judge of extraordinary courage and character like Justice Srikrishna to get at the truth fearlessly, which he did.

The Shiv Sena-BJP government, during whose tenure the Report was submitted naturally rejected it as biased and anti-Hindu. Shri Manoher Joshi the then Chief Minister made very partisan remarks, not as a chief minister but as a Shiv Sena leader and said that if anyone touched our leader Bal Thackaray he would resign as chief minister and would agitate on the street. One could hardly expect from such partisan chief minister any action on the report. Again, like other reports, the Sena-BJP government of Maharashtra accepted certain marginal recommendations about the policing system and shelved the report.

The human rights activists and their organisations had been continuously demanding pressing for its implementation. But all this had no effect on the government. Mr. Pawar and his party, National Congress Party, promised in its manifesto that if they came to power they would implement the Report within three months. However, it is more than a year since the Congress-NCP Government came to power, there is no sign of implementation of the Report.

First the Congress-NCP government kept on saying it is studying the 'legal position' on implementation of the Report. On 6 December '99 a citizens delegation met the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh urging on him the implementation of the report. He asked for two months' time to implement. A signature campaign was also launched by an organisation called Nirbhay Bano (be fearless) and submitted to the Chief Minister. The Government found another way out for non-implementation of the report by filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court in January 2000 that it plans to refer the report to the Crime Branch.

The question is why a report so painstakingly prepared by a judge of the High Court of Srikrishna's integrity has to be examined by the Crime Branch? Can the police officials who displayed their partisan and anti-minority character sit in judgement over a high court judge of Sri Krishna's calibre? It is totally incomprehensible how the report could be referred to the Crime Branch for evaluation?

It was in February 2000 that Mr. Nasim Khan, Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies who had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court asking that the Report's implementation be handed over to the CBI as he lacked faith in the Mumbai police. Again a delegation of some citizens led by the former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra State, Shri J.B.D'Souza met the Chief Minister. This time the delegation consisted of some riots' victims also. One Ms. Hajira Bi told the C.M. that her husband and brother had been missing ever since the riots and she be paid compensation. The Chief Minister promised to look into her request. Nothing happened to that also to date.

Meanwhile the government kept on saying that since the petition has been pending in the Supreme Court it cannot take action on the report as if it would have taken action on the report otherwise. In fact had it taken action there would have been no need for the aggrieved people to go to the Supreme Court. Then it was in June 2000 that the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, Shri Chagan Bhujbal announced that 112 closed riots cases out of total 1358 are being reopened. It was during the Shiv Sena-BJP government's time that most of the riots' cases were closed down saying no proper records were available or the cases could not be substantiated.

Obviously there was hardly any truth in that. In fact the Sena-BJP government was never interested in getting the culprits punished, as they were mostly their own party people. Bhujbal also announced that the charge sheets in these cases would be filed within one month. One does not know what happened in these cases and whether charge sheets were really filed. Nothing is definitely known.

On August 7, 2000 again a citizens' delegation met the C.M. on the second anniversary of the submission of the Srikrishna Commission report urging him to implement the report. He again promised action as usual. It was after this that the government announced setting up of a task force to deal with the riots' cases. The Task Force is supposedly examining various riots' cases.

Here it will be interesting to throw some light on the police officers' role who have been indicted by the Commission. Srikrishna Commission has indicted 31 police officers from the rank of the Deputy Commissioner of police to constables. On the role of the police the Report says: "The evidence before the Commission indicates that the police personnel were found actively participating in riots, communal incidents or incidents of looting, arson and so on. The Commission strongly recommends that Government take strict action against them."

It is interesting to note that the Shiv Sena-BJP government promoted 10 of these indicted police officers. This is how the government took strict action against those officers. One of them was appointed Police Commissioner of Bombay by the Sena-BJP government. The Police Commissioner since then has retired. What action, if any, the Congress-NCP government can also take against the retired officer? Out of these indicted officers now the government has suspended five constables. It is always easy to take some symbolic action against lowest ranks like constables. But the officers of the higher rank go scot free or are even rewarded. It has been observed that in almost all riots the guilty police officers of higher ranks have ended up on highest posts.

Now the Maharashtra government has decided to exonerate 12 policemen indicted by the Srikrishna Commission as stated in the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court. One of them is dead. They were exonerated by the committee set up by the government headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home). It is again the case of bureaucrats sitting on judgement on the report prepared by a High Court Judge of unimpeachable integrity. Of two police officers exonerated by the Committee the Srikrishna Commission Report says, "�they were responsible for allowing the violent mob to hack to death one Abdul Razak Aba Kalshekar (C.R.NO.13 of 1993)."

If the governments tend to protect such police officers one can hardly hope that police officers will play effective role in checking communal riots. And if the police plays openly partisan role as it did during the Bombay riots of 1992-93 it is doubtful whether future riots can be prevented. If government is unable to give exemplary punishments to such police officers it should at least desist from promoting them to the highest posts in the state. How can such police officers holding highest post be expected to be impartial in their behaviour?

It is true the police officers are also human beings and can get affected by the social and political atmosphere. But this explanation cannot justify behaviour of responsible officers. There is also great need for secularising the attitudes of the police officers through training workshops for all ranks of the police and especially the constabulary and lower officers who handle the situation in the field. It must also be said that there are some really secular officers of proven record. They were there during the Bombay riots too. I wish the Srikrishna Commission Report had mentioned about them too. They performed their duty with full sense of responsibility. My experience with police officers shows that many among them are misinformed on crucial issues. Proper knowledge can greatly help. Hence urgent need for training workshops on secular values and communal challenges.