Structures of Legal Restraint, Oh Police Powers in India

The Ibakkar Natarajan focus Part wholeness of the Nanawti bearing incubate, probing into the Godhara incident in Gujarat, released last month has once once much opened the Pandoras Box over logic of pointting up query counsellings in the country. The root word charm giving clean chit to the N bendra Modi government has supported the theory of conspiracy, leading to a widespread criticism crosswise the country. M whatsoever call it eye wash and other call it sponsored report. Communists wipe come in termed it a piecemeal and fabricated report, whereas National Democratic Alliance (NDA) calls it triumph of truth. legal expert Nanawati report in fact contradicts the UC Banerjee report which also probed the Godhara incident. How a single incident draws two extreme conclusions? The two reports experience raised a very problematic issue. What do juridical directions, appointed by the various governments to examine issues ranging from riots, s shtupdals and assassination s to inter-state disputes rattling achieve? Critics of commissions say that their fresh history has been extremely spotty. Apart from victorious inordinately long to deliver reports, they seldom achieve anything.Keeping apart from much(prenominal) allegations and counter allegations, the issue that has again come to fore is whether an inquiry commission can substitute criminal prosecution? Do these complaints serve any purpose? Is it not an eye wash? Are these accusations able to conduct culprits to book? Are not equips of inquiry a waste of age and money? To beneathstand the entire issue, one has to discuss the Commission of doubtfulness make, 1952 itself. Before this Act came into being, the governments used to order an inquiry by executive notifications under Public Service dubiousness Act, 1850.Some metres, they used to enact adhoc and episodic legislations too. To meet the public demand for impartial and judicial inquiries, the Government of India came place with a comprehensive legislation, which resulted into passage of this Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. Since its enactment, the constitution of Inquiry Commissions has become a tool for the various governments to subside the public anger. Since Independence, more(prenominal) than a hundred Inquiry Commissions have been curing up, but a very few have served the purpose. And the reasons argon obvious.First, the provisions enshrined in this Act are not of deterrent in nature and secondly, most of the time the Commissions are set up under retired Judges for obvious reasons. role 4 the Act provides for powers and it is clear that the Commission has no power to obligate a person to adduce before it and give evidence. It cannot pass verdicts or judgments which could be enforceable. The helplessness is such that even if an offence has been committed in view of or in presence of Commission, the Commission needs to frontwards the case to the Magistrate for trial as provided in pitiful Proc edure code.The battle of retired Judges, as head of the Commission is very much suitable for the government. It is not specifiedly a chance that one Judge has headed more than one Commission. The public perception is such that these Inquiry Commissions are becoming jeopardize retirement placement schemes for the privilegeite retired Judges. We have a long run of such Commissions, which have made inordinate delay in submitting their reports. some of them have taken decades in so cal take conducting inquiries and even thus the report which was submitted were so voluminous that we required another committee to find out(a) ays to implement the recommendations. For example, as many as ten Commissions or committees have so far been set up with regard to the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi by and by the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. First of all it was the Marvah Commission headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Ved Marvah, that was set up in November, 1984. The Commission was well-nigh to finish the assigned task when it was abruptly wounded up in May 1985 and a new Commission headed by referee Rangnath Misra was constituted. The new Commission was asked to carry out further inquiry tranquilize done by the Marvah Commission.The Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission which was appointed under ingredient 3 of The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, was asked to inquire into allegations of violence and not to inquire into the nature of violence, a departure from the terms of reference of over a xii other commissions on communal disturbances since Independence. It is needless to mention that what has happened to reports and how much quantity have been spent on these exercises. Has any prominent leader been punish so far? Many persons, against whom leveled charges were being inquired into, have died.Such are the preclude results of these Commissions and Committees. As far as time and money aspect of these Commissions are concerned, its e nough to look into the expenses of just couple of Commissions to understand the quantum of impact twain in terms of the amount and time spent. The one that tops the chart is the Liberhan Commission. Set up under retired Justice M S Liberhan on 16 December, 1992 to probe into Babri mosque demolition, the Commission has so far been given more than 41 extensions. Overall the government has already spent Rs 90 trillion on this single man inquiry Commission, which is yet to come out with its report.Similarly, Justice B N Kripal Commission of inquiry was set up on 13 July, 1985 to probe into the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 on 23 June, 1985 which led to the crash of this plane into the Atlantic Ocean going 329 passengers including crew dead. The Commission submitted its report after extensive tours of countries like Canada and the republics but when the prosecution began, nothing could be proved and none could be punished. The entire probe and inquiry went in vain. It is needl ess again, to calculate the amount which was spent on such inquiries.Phukan Commission was set up to probe the Tehelka split into fictitious defence deals. Everyone saw the tape on television and the consequently Government just to avoid immediate legal course, set up this Commission. In May 2005 the Newsweek reported that Justice Phukan along with his wife and cardinal officials used IAF plane and went to Pune, Mumbai and Shirdi. The Ministry later said that the Judge was not empower to use the military plane and it was made available to him by the then government in order to influence the Judge. Such allegations and incidents definitely rankle public faith in such Commissions.The situation is such that each Government in power uses this provision to oblige the retired judges. In Bihar for example, Justice Amir Das Commission was set up to probe into the maintain connections of political leaders with a banned outfit called Ranveer Sena in 1997. The Commission was finally wou nded up in 2006 as it could hardly do anything except for some tours and recording the statements some leaders in over eight years of its existence. Similar is the case of Justice Ali Ahmed Commission that was set up to look into excess withdrawal in 1996.In fact, very forgetful is known about the outcome of the Commission, including the recommendations that it submited or the actions taken by it. Commission under Justice R C P Sinha and Justice Samsul was set up on Bhagalpur communal riot in 1989. Reports were submitted in 1995. further when the new government came to power it set up N N Singh (retired Justice) Commission to investigate the way out again. In 2008 a Commission under retired judge Sadanand Mukherjee was set up to probe into the Kahalgaon police firing. This commission is still a non starter vis-a-vis investigation of the incidence.Not to miss the fact that when the recent breach in Kosi embankment that caused a major flood in Bihar led to lot of allegations and co unter allegations, the state government was quick to constitute a Commission under Rajesh Walia, again a retired Judge to probe into it. And while there is no bias against the judicature or the retired judges, who are a national repository of knowledge as far as judicial matters are concerned, the question needs to be examined is whether a Commission can substitute the countrys criminal investigation system.How can a Judge be better equipped to do forensic test, do scientific investigations than a professionally trained police officer? Has the Commission power to make arrests to the persons likely to tamper evidences? The answer to these and many such questions has been provided by a two Judge commission itself. Set up by in 1987 to investigate the Fairfax Deal, the Justice Thakkar and Natarajan Commission in its report have said that the Commission of Inquiry Act was ineffective and edentate. They two, in fact, devoted one full chapter on the inadequacies of this Act.It is import ant to blood that India has a criminal justice system, which is based on the twin pillars of investigation and dispensation of justice. How can the Judiciary be asked to do the work of investigation, which is the work of the State as enshrined the law of the land? The Criminal Procedure Code and for that matter entire Criminal Justice System is erected on this principle (Article 50 of Chapter IV on Directive Principles of State Policy) and perhaps it is due to this principle, that the judiciary and executive have been completely separated in 1973, when the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended.Besides, most of these Commissions, after years of its investigation, usually submit reports that are so voluminous that it again requires some committees to suggest measures to implements the recommendations. Not to burble about the fact that such reports are not obligatory and compulsory for the government to implement. It is also worthwhile to mention here that the Judiciary in India is an independent system and that is precisely the reason why Article 220 restricts perform by retired Judges. The idea is that there should not be any scope, whatsoever, of favour or disfavour by the serving Judges.By appointing the retired Judges in these Commissions or for that matter in any other body tends to clearly mess up the spirit of the Constitution itself. What is more shocking is that instead of modernising and equipping the canvas agencies to probe into such serious issues of national shame, the country has been a mere spectator to the cosmetic make ups. In India, every one knows about the normal pace of the court proceedings, and so all these commissions, needless to say have virtually become black holes.