Sep
10
Controversy over Nanavati’s Comments on Sajjan Kumar
September 10, 2004 | 1 Comment
A controversy erupted this week over the Nanavati Commission’s stance towards Sajjan Kumar, an MP who has been cited repeatedly by survivors and eyewitnesses as a major perpetrator and organizer of the 1984 pogroms of Sikhs.
First, at the last hearing of the Nanavati Commission, MP and Union Minister Jagdish Tytler, Vasant Sathe, and Kamal Nath denied any role in the pogroms:
“It is a case of conspiracy. Other persons were propping up the witnesses to name the leaders for their involvement in the riots,” advocate Lavkesh Sawhney, appearing for the three Congress leaders, told the commission in its concluding hearing.
While attacking the credibility of a witness who submitted an affidavit against Tytler, Tytler chose not to cross-examine the witness himself.
On September 8, NDTV quoted Justice Nanavati as stating that he had strong evidence against Kumar for his role in the pogroms:
“There is evidence against Sajjan Kumar and HKL Bhagat. They were leading the mob and instigating the crowd,” said Justice GT Nanavati, head of the inquiry commission.
However, Nanavati also claimed that the evidence against other senior political party leaders was limited.
In reaction to the controversy generated by his statements, Nanavati took a step back:
“It is made clear that nobody has been exonerated or indicted by the Commission and the press reports in this regard are not correct,” JP Narain, Secretary, Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry, said in a press release.
“As the evidence has not been appreciated so far, therefore, question of indicting anybody or exonerating anybody at this stage does not arise,” the release said.
ENSAAF’s report Twenty Years of Impunity: The November 1984 Pogroms of Sikhs in India discusses how grave lapses in police investigations, delays in filing cases, the failure to identify and investigate prosecution witnesses, the deliberate misrecording of witness statements, and the failure to comply with legal procedures precluded effective prosecutions against major perpetrators.
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