'Beyond The Pale Of The Rule Of Law'

The recent Tehelka expose of the "Gujarat riots" of 2002, demonstratesvery starkly that these were neither "spontaneous" nor "riots", butwere in fact mass murder, loot and mayhem orchestrated and organizedby the top echelons of the Gujarat units of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal,and the BJP with the full connivance and complicity of the Gujaratgovernment headed by Narendra Modi. The Tehelka tapes show seniorfunctionaries of these organizations and of the government braggingand confessing to their having committed and participated incommitting heinous crimes like brutal mass murder, rape, burning,looting etc. Many of them claim and boast about how Narendra Modiexplicitly encouraged the carnage and told the killers and riotersthat they were being given a free rein of three days. These peoplealso claim how several senior police officials not only aided andabetted these killers by their actions and inaction but in many casesthemselves participated in the carnage.

These senior functionaries who boast about having committed thesecrimes also claim how Modi provided shelter to these people and evengot inconvenient judges changed to ensure that these mass murderersgot out on bail. They also boast about having successfully subvertedthe integrity of the Nanavati Commission. In short, the tapes reveal ahorrific state of affairs in Gujarat, which seems to have gone beyondthe pale of the rule of law, and the most basic norms of humanity. Andthat it has become a state where the government is not being carriedon in accordance with the Constitution.

It has become imperative that a special investigating teambe immediately constituted to investigate the involvement of NarendraModi and other senior functionaries in his government and the policein the killings, their abetment and the shelter and help given to thecriminals. This SIT can be constituted by the Supreme Court and shouldbe monitored on a regular basis and asked to compete theirinvestigation within a few months. This would be one of the mostimportant investigations ever undertaken in this country.

But most immediately, the persons shown on tape confessing to havingcommitted crimes must be immediately arrested and those of them whoare serving officials, must be placed under suspension. If the stategovernment shows any hesitation in doing this, that will onlyreinforce the overwhelming evidence of their complicity in theCarnage.

The pending cases of Naroda Patia, Gulbarga society etc. which havebeen stayed by the Supreme Court, pending hearing of the applicationsfor their transfer outside Gujarat for the last 4 years, must beimmediately taken up by the court, ordered to be expeditiouslyreinvestigated by an independent agency and cases tried expeditiously.

We therefore call upon the central government and the Supreme Court,whose duty it is to enforce the rule of law and protect theConstitution, to immediately take the above steps. We also call uponall right thinking people of Gujarat to come out in support of thesedemands. What is at stake is not merely the survival of Constitutionalvalues and the rule of law but the survival of civilisation itself inthis country.

Signed by:
Admiral R.H.Tahiliani (Former Navy Chief, Chairman Transparency International,India)
SP Shukla (Former Finance Secy, GOI)
Shanti Bhushan (Former Law Minister)
Muchkund Dubey (Former Foreign Secretary, GOI)
Ramaswamy Iyer (Former Water Resources Secy, GOI)
EAS Sarma (Former Power Secretary, GOI)
B George Verghese (Senior Journalist)
Madhu Bhaduri (Former Ambassador, GOI)
Medha Patkar (Social Activist)
Aruna Roy (Social Activist, Former member NAC)
Arundhati Roy (Writer, Social Activist)
Arvind Kejriwal (RTI Activist, Magsaysay awardee)
Sandeep Pande (Social Activist, Magsaysay awardee)
Major Gen SG Vombatkere (Retd. Mysore)
Prof Amit Bhaduri (Former Professor of Economics, JNU)
Prof K.M.Shrimali (Department of History, Delhi University)
Arun Kumar (Professor Economics, JNU)
Prof Girijesh Pant (School of International Studies, JNU)
Prof Pramod Yadava (Professor, Dean, School of Life Sciences JNU)
Prof Sujata Patel (Dept. of Sociology, University of Pune)
Prof Achin Vinayak (Professor, Third World Academy)
Nasir Tayabji (Director, Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia
Milia Islamia)
Jean Dreze (Visiting Professor, Allahabad University)
Arshad Alam (Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia)
Shailesh Gandhi (Convenor, NCPRI)
Vikram Lal (Director, Common Cause)
Shabnam Hashmi (Social Activist, ANHAD)
Dunu Roy (Social Activist and Director, Hazard Centre)
Ravi Chopra (Director, People's Science Institute)
N Bhaskar Rao (Director, Centre for media studies)
Dr Ajay Mehra (Director, Centre for public affairs)
Manoj Mitta (Journalist)
Sundeep Dougal (Journalist)
Ajit Bhattacharjee (Journalist)
Sudhirendra Sharma (Journalist)
Smitu Kothari (Dir Centre for Intercultural Resources, Co-Founder Lokayan)
Himanshu Thakkar (Centre for Water Policy)
Nandini Oza (Social Activist, MP)
Ashish Kothari (Founder Member Kalpavriksh)
Vinod Raina (Founder Eklavya)
Rohit Prajapati (Social Activist, Baroda)
Trupti Shah (Social Activist, Baroda)
S Srinivasan (Baroda)
Sanjay Kak (Filmmaker)
Arshad Amanullah (Documentary Filmmaker)
Nikhil Dey (Social Activist)
Ashok Rao (Secy National Confederation of Officers Association)
Kamini Jaiswal (Lawyer)
Prashant Bhushan (Public Interest Lawyer)