Season of anti-Modi leaks is back, this time with Amicus Curiae report

Source: News Bharti

Karnavati, 24 October :  Just before the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team(SIT) was to submit report to trial court in Ahmedabad, there’s sudden proliferation of leaks of Amicus Curiae report on Modi’s alleged role during 2002 riots.

First Supreme Court appointed SIT to look into the alleged role of Modi and others in 2002 riots. Then when SIT came out with its report, the SC selected senior lawyer Raju Ramchandran and asked him to prepare his own report on SIT findings in the capacity of Amicus curiae. Now it seems highly confidential Raju Ramchandran report is purposefully leaked.

Based on sources, The Hindu published a report today and said: If the trial court accepts Mr. Ramachandran’s view, the sources said, the stage will have been set for the prosecution of the Chief Minister under various sections of the IPC, among them, 153 A (statements promoting enmity between communities), 153 B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration) 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 166 (public servant disobeying a direction of the law with the intent to cause injury).

Under Section 166, any public servant who disobeys a direction of the law as to how he should conduct himself as a public servant and knowing the act will cause injury is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term extending to one year. As the chief executive in control of the administration, Mr. Modi was especially under obligation to quell the riots.

Interestingly The Hindue and The Times of India  both have published reports based on leaked Raju Ramachandran report on same day. Very much possible therefore that it is a catered leak.

From leaked report it appears that Raju Ramchandran has uncovered nothing new (or has collected no new evidences) even after meeting Sanjiv Bhatt and others. Raju has only showed his disagreement with some conclusions presented in professionally prepared SIT report. So his report is just an opinion.

Till the court decides the future course of action, p-secular brigade will continue to keep its hopes alive further for some time, and until the court order we will have to live with these leaks. In fact that seems to be the agenda behind leaking it. Such leaks and reports based on it continue to prejudice an opinion largely irrespective of legal merit or court outcome. It is like actual verdict rules for one day, but leaked report rules for hundreds of day in print and on TV before the actual verdict is delivered.