Banerjee panel on Godhra riots illegal: Gujarat HC

In a significant development, the Gujarat High Court has declared as illegal the setting up of the UC Banerjee Committee by railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to probe certain aspects of the Godhra train carnage. The court order came on a petition challenging the constitution of the Banerjee Commission on the ground that Justice Nanawati Shah Commission was already on the job.

The Banerjee Committee in its interim report had concluded that the fire that engulfed the S-6 compartment of Sabarmati Express on February 29, ’02, killing 58 passengers, was an accident and it was “not caused by the use of any inflammable material.”

The Banerjee panel, while rejecting any ‘conspiracy’ angle, had also said, quoting the Panchmahal SP, that the Muslims in the Godhra area had helped the local administration to douse the fire in the train on that fateful day. Incidentally, the conspiracy angle is being probed by the Nanavati panel.

The Banerjee Commission came out with the interim report on the basis of its interaction with railway and police officials. Ever since Mr Yadav set up the Banerjee Commission soon after the UPA assumed office in ’04, it was opposed, both legally and politically, by the NDA and Modi government, saying it was a ploy to by-pass the ongoing inquiry by the Nanawati Commission.