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JSM approaches Gujarat High Court against proposed Judicial inquiry
7/24/2008
The Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), a non-government organization, has submitted a memorandum to acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court M S Shah, requesting him not to accord sanction for appointment of any judicial officer in the judicial inquiry proposed by the Government into the mysterious death of the two inmates of Asaram Bapu’s Ashram.
Advocate Dr Mukul Sinha, representing the JSM, said in the memorandum that for several days now, the people of Gujarat and, particularly, the parents of the deceased children, have been demanding investigation into the matter by an impartial agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Gujarat government, on July 20, had declared a judicial inquiry into the deaths of Dipesh Vaghela (10) and Abhishek Vaghela (11), who went missing from the Ashram on July 3 and their bodies were recovered from Sabarmati River bed near the Ashram, on July 5.
Dr Sinha said this move of the government has not found any support among the people and that the Government is deliberately trying to avoid an effective investigation into the matter. The bandh observed yesterday was essentially to voice rejection of the inquiry by the people at large, he said.
In the memorandum, the JSM pointed out that a judicial inquiry would be totally ineffective, since the incident requires detailed examination by an expert investigating agency. “We may also point out that any failure by the judicial inquiry to arrive at the truth would only tarnish the fair name of the judicial officer and give the Government a convenient way to shift the blame,” Dr Sinha said.
“So we are requesting the Chief Justice not to give consent for any retired Judge of the High Court or any other Judicial Officer to be appointed to any Judicial Commission of Inquiry,” Dr Sinha said.
UNI
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