Important Commissions

Liberhan Commission The Liberhan Commission is a long-running inquiry commissioned by the Indian government to investigate the destruction of the disputed structure Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. Led by retired Indian Supreme Court Judge M S Liberhan, it was formed on 16 December 1992 by an order of the Indian Home Union Ministry following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on 6 December and the riots in Ayodhya. The Commission was expected to submit its report within three months. Extensions were given forty-eight times, and after a delay of 17 years, the commission submitted the report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 30 June 2009.In November 2009, contents of the report were leaked to the news media, causing a row in the Indian parliament.

Terms and reference of the Commission To make an inquiry with respect to the following matters: 1. The sequence of events leading to, and all the facts and circumstances relating to, the occurrences in the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid complex at Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 involving the destruction of the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid structure; 2. The role played by the Chief Minister, Members of the Council of Ministers, officials of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and by the individuals, concerned organisations and agencies in, or in connection with, the destruction of the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid structure; 3. The deficiencies in security measures and other arrangements as prescribed or operated in practice by Government of Uttar Pradesh which might have contributed to the events that took place in the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid complex, Ayodhya town and Faizabad on 6 December, 1992; 4. The sequence of events leading to, and all the facts and circumstances relating to, the assault on media persons at Ayodhya on 6 December, 1992; and 5. Any other matters related to the subject of Inquiry.

Duration and expenses The one-man panel, one of the country's longest running inquiry commissions, cost the government Rs.8 crore, and wrote the report on the sequence of events leading to the destruction of the Babri mosque by Hindu mobs on December 6, 1992. Sources told IANS that besides identifying those who played a role in the destruction of the 16th century mosque, the commission would also unravel why and how the demolition happened and name the larger forces and actors responsible for it. Appointed by former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao two weeks after the demolition on December 16, 1992, to ward off criticism against his government for having failed to protect the mosque, the commission in August 2005 finished hearing its last witness Kalyan Singh – who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister at the time of the demolition and was dismissed soon after. In 16 years of its proceedings, the commission recorded statements of several politicians, bureaucrats and police officials including Kalyan Singh, late Narasimha Rao, former deputy

prime minister L.K. Advani and his colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati as well as Mulayam Singh Yadav. Top bureaucrats and police officials of Uttar Pradesh, the then district magistrate R.N. Srivastava and Senior Superintendent of Police D.B. Roy of Ayodhya also recorded their statements on the demolition.

Leaked contents On 23 November 2009, the media began reporting on the contents of the report, which had been leaked before being made available to the legislature. It indicted top BJP leaders as being actively involved in the meticulous planning of the demolition of the mosque. It was a day of angry exchanges in parliament, and cries of "Shame, shame!" in the Lok Sabha as the opposition accused the Home Ministry of deliberately leaking the report.The Parliament session had to be adjourned for the day. Parliament delayed discussion of the report and the accompanying Action Taken Report (ATR), which contained mostly recommendations, until 22 December 2009. The report implicated 68 people, including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and more critically, Kalyan Singh, the then-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.[4][5] The report accused the RSS of being the chief architect of the demolition. The Justice Liberhan Commission Report and Action Taken Report (ATR) on it were tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament on November 24, 2009. The Commission has identified the Kalyan Singh-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh as the key to the execution of the conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid.Justice M S Liberhan termed Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi as pseudo-moderates, pretending to keep a distance from the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign when they were actually aware of the whole conspiracy. The report said, "They have violated the trust of the people...There can be no greater betrayal or crime in a democracy and this Commission has no hesitation in condemning these pseudo-moderates for their sins of omission".

Liberhan Commission Report. How it matters much if that commission makes Advani and others BJP and its allied organizations responsible. These persons are already facing trials in criminal courts and after commission reports some more cases may be lodged against them. After long 17 years when the commission tired it submitted the report saying that people did not cooperate it. Nothing wonderful. It is part of the game and culture of the nation. It happens with all commissions and courts. Such commissions are meant to sidetrack from realities and good for nothing except some people could get job for further 17 years. The police will take further time to investigate offence and to file charge sheet against culprits and there after long, long procedure of trial will go on which will prove endless and of no avail. The reality is who ever demolished the structure were criminally liable for taking law in their hands to commit the offence of mischief and its abetment. After this report also nothing special will come out of the jugglery box of no worth.

The reality has been sidetracked .It is a fact that the so-called Bavari Masjid was constructed after the demolition of the Ram Mandir and so also other temples by Mughal emperors. This fact is obvious and can be proved by the remains of the debry on the site and by the Archeological department’s record. Bit alas! The department will hide the record or will say that it is not traceable. If CBI can be influenced and forced to work under the thumb of the Congress and its extra constitutional authorities what to say about this department. But to please the Muslim community all futile exercise is being done. And the media. The report has not been made open to public but the media has started criticizing BJP and its allies. Why so? It is their business and the media is paid for that. The media has drawn the conclusion without going through the report. What is reality is Ram Mandir should be constructed on the land and Hindus should feel honour that the land has been freed though in wrong way. Prosecution of few persons will not make the fact untrue. Both are separate subjects.

B. N. Srikrishna Justice B.N. Srikrishna (born May 21, 1941) is an Indian jurist and a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India. From 1993-98, he headed the well-known Commission of Inquiry, the "Srikrishna Commission" as it became known, which investigated causes and apportioned blame for the Bombay Riots of 1992-93.

The Srikrishna Commission and the Bombay Riots In 1992-93, the city of Mumbai was rocked by communal riots between the Hindu and Muslim communities and bomb blasts perpetrated by Muslim terrorists in collusion with D-Company mafia don Dawood Ibrahim. While communal riots are not unusual in modern Indian history, these riots were particularly startling in light of Mumbai's largely peaceful past. Above all the Bombay Riots appeared to compromise the much-vaunted image of the city as cosmopolitan, secular and tolerant. Further, the riots appeared to solidify the image of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray who scathingly criticised the judiciary. Justice Srikrishna, then a relatively junior Judge of the Bombay High Court, accepted the task of investigating the causes of the riots, something that many of his colleagues had turned down. [citation needed] For five years, until 1998, he examined victims, witnesses and alleged perpetrators. Detractors came initially from left-secular quarters who were wary of a judge who was a devout and practicing Hindu. The Commission was disbanded by the Shiv Sena-led government in January 1996 and on public opposition was later reconstituted on 28 May 1996; though when it was reconstituted, its terms of reference were extended to include the Mumbai bomb blasts that followed in March 1993. Justice Srikrishna indicted those responsible for the bloodshed, the Shiv Sena and its cadres. For a while its contents were a closely guarded secret and no copies were available. The Shiv Sena government rejected its recommendations. Since under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, an Inquiry is not a court of law (even if it conducts proceedings like a court of law) and the report of an inquiry is not binding on Governments, Srikrishna's recommendations cannot be directly enforced. To this date, the recommendations of the Commission have neither been accepted nor acted upon by the Maharashtra Government.

The Srikrishna Report on Madras High Court Riots Justice Srikrishna headed a one-man commission to inquire about the February 19, 2009 Madras High Court incidents. He submitted an interim report on March 4, 2009 with his findings to the Supreme Court of India.