tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post1017757853720477340..comments2023-09-21T16:17:51.838+05:30Comments on Law and Other Things: Nanavati Report on Godhra tragedyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09348738084817273397noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-55084282706114729432008-10-04T13:22:00.000+05:302008-10-04T13:22:00.000+05:30One says it is a conspiracy, other an accident.Mus...One says it is a conspiracy, other an accident.Muslims attacked and caused fire but that was mob fury<BR/>not conspiracy is another theory.<BR/>We will never know the truth. Was there an attempt to abduct a girl or was it something else. Well it is a question of perception and whose evidence one is willing to<BR/>accept. Many might have their version of what had happened on that day but what had happened in totality,taken all evidence together might not result in that truth with a big T. I am skeptical of the commissions and the debates because what one considers as truth<BR/>depends on what premises and conjectures one accepts and which<BR/>ones one doubts. Whom one wants to<BR/>trust hinges on so many ifs and<BR/>buts. There are many versions of truth that are floating around. Choose your pick and deny the rest is the name of the game.ரவி ஸ்ரீநிவாஸ்https://www.blogger.com/profile/10176389904737294055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-88918263052482688692008-09-30T01:48:00.000+05:302008-09-30T01:48:00.000+05:30My father, with all the cynicism that only a forme...My father, with all the cynicism that only a former bureaucrat with 37 years experience can summon, told me once that the conclusions of all commissions of inquiry are known in advance. On one notable occasion, he said the appointed head of a commission [a former bureaucrat and head of many public sector companies] asked directly "What conclusions are we supposed to arrive at? and then - surprise, surprise - arrived at exactly the same conclusions!<BR/><BR/>While my father might be taking it a bit too far, he does empirically (if only anecdotally) confirm what you point out as a theoretical possibility: "the state executive is inextricably linked to the commissions and that they cannot but be susceptible to executive control."<BR/><BR/>Just out of curiosity, do you, or anyone else, know of any *empirical* work done on these commissions of inquiry? Some questions: How many of them are headed by former high court/supreme court justices or former bureaucrats? How long do they typically last? How much money is spent on average on them? How long before any action is taken? And so on and so forth...I am sure they will yield some fascinating insights into the workings of our political system!Sureshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12270071532015895732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-74812285317451839452008-09-30T00:43:00.000+05:302008-09-30T00:43:00.000+05:30I co-authored this piece long ago, and not sure ho...I co-authored <A HREF="http://altlawforum.org/Resources/lexlib/moifloppy" REL="nofollow">this piece</A> long ago, and not sure how much I agree with its contents now. It was written when the Nanavati Commission was instituted, and shared expressed Prof. Baxi's worry that ‘momentarily distressed regimes have used this mechanism, with some success in order to provide the appearance of a short term rule of law oriented state action, which in the long term divests victims of any semblance of effective redress’. In hindsight, the worry seems vindicated.<BR/><BR/>In any case, the main analysis in the piece is structural - arguing that 'one reading of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 under which these bodies are constituted, is sufficient to show that structurally the state executive is inextricably linked to the commissions and that they cannot but be susceptible to executive control.'<BR/><BR/>Who should one believe? Nanavati? Banerjee? Only if we had a robust and independent prosecution and a fast-acting judiciary, many of these commissions (at least those seeking to establish criminal involvement) would be unnecessary and fact-finding would be left to courts, as it should be.Tarunabh Khaitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07234574402062317396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-973092622338352852008-09-30T00:41:00.000+05:302008-09-30T00:41:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Tarunabh Khaitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07234574402062317396noreply@blogger.com