Supreme Court Directs Maharashtra on Mumbai Riots Cases

A bench comprised of justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Maharashtra DGP and the secretary of the state home department to look into the recommendations of the Justice B. N. Srikrishna Commission and file a “better compliance” report, upset by non-compliance with its directions issued in a November 4, 2022, judgment.
On January 25, 1993, the state government established a commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, led by Justice Srikrishna, then a Bombay High Court judge, to investigate the circumstances, events, and immediate causes of the Mumbai riots on and after December 6, 1992, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Apex Court’s Directions

The bench noted that the commission’s recommendations were approved by the state government in 2022, based on which the Apex Court issued a number of directives in its decision.

1. The Supreme Court has directed the State Government to provide the details of 97 cases on dormant files to the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court within one month.
2. On receipt of the information, the High Court on the administrative side shall send relevant communication to the competent courts in which the proceedings are pending to make the necessary efforts to trace the accused.
3. The state government shall immediately constitute a special cell to trace the absconding or missing accused in these cases and to assist the concerned courts so that the trial can proceed against them.
4. In its decision, the Supreme Court also ordered the state government to produce a report including information about 168 people who were reported missing during Mumbai’s communal riots in 1992–93.

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