SC rejects Gujarat’s plea to keep report confidential

NEW DELHI: In a setback to the Gujarat government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected its plea to keep confidential a report submitted by Justice HS Bedi, a former top court judge, on 24 alleged cases of fake encounters in the state between 2002 and 2006.

The court asked its registry to supply a copy of the panel’s finding to the petitioners, Javed Akhtar and the late journalist BG Verghese.

A bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also pulled up the state government for seeking constant adjournment in the matter.

The court made it clear that providing a copy of Justice Bedi’s report to the petitioners did not mean this report had been accepted.

It will deal with the content later, the court said, giving four weeks to both Gujarat government and the petitioners to file their responses.

The court was hearing two public interest cases filed in 2007 by veteran journalist BG Verghese and poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, seeking a direction for an independent probe to unearth the “truth”.

The petitioners demanded a fair and in-depth probe into the alleged fake encounters. Verghese passed away on December 30, 2014.

The Gujarat government’s lawyer objected to the plea of advocate Prashant Bhushan, counsel for the petitioners, seeking a copy of Justice Bedi’s final report.

The Gujarat government’s lawyer said he feared the report would become public once it is shared with petitioners.

“He is the petitioner. He has set the law in motion...then why can’t he (get a copy)?” the bench asked.

The court also did not accede to Gujarat’s request to direct the petitioner to keep the report confidential.

The state counsel further argued that it is clear whether the views expressed in the report were Justice Bedi’s unilateral opinion or the entire committee’s.

The bench brushed aside the argument and said Justice Bedi said he consulted other panel members, but that in keeping with the court’s order, was the only one signing the report.

“Should we not serve the petitioner a copy of the report when it is by a former judge in whom this court has reposed faith and confidence?” the CJI asked Gujarat counsel.

The court pointed out that “earlier reports” submitted by the former judge “are in the nature of status reports,” but “this is the finding.”

As the state pressed its objections, the court said : “We are not accepting this report now...your objections will come at the stage of accepting or not or the report. That stage has not come now”.

Veteran journalist BG Verghese’s petition pointed to a pattern of killings in all the cases to support his demand for an independent investigation.

In September 2016, the apex court granted three more months to the special probe panel to conclude its investigation.