E-Paper
Koregaon Bhima commission suspends hearings; ‘no accommodation’
There is no other option before the Commission but to suspend the hearing schedule till the government provides suitable accommodation to the Commission, says a letter written by commission secretary VV Palnitkar to the chief secretary of the state government
The Koregaon Bhima Judicial Commission has suspended all future hearings on grounds that the Maharashtra government has not yet provided suitable accommodation for commission members in Mumbai, despite several letters of request being sent to the government over a period of one year.
A letter written by commission secretary VV Palnitkar to the chief secretary of the state government, a copy of which is with HT, states: “Nothing was heard from the government till October 31, 2021, about availability of suitable accommodation. Therefore, there is no other option before the Commission but to suspend the hearing schedule till the government provides suitable accommodation to the Commission. Accordingly, the Commission hereby suspends all future hearings till the Government provides suitable accommodation at Mumbai”.
The letter stated that the commission has informed the government about a proposed hearing scheduled from November 8-12, 2021.
“In the meeting dated Oct 28, 2021, Chairman Justice JN Patel advised Saxena, principal secretary, Home Spl. to take the issue directly to the office of the Chief Minister and to get the suitable accommodation on an emergent basis. It was also made clear that if suitable accommodation is not provided by October 29, the commission would suspend its hearing schedules. Unfortunately, nothing was heard from the government till October 31 about availability of suitable accommodation”, the letter reads.
The commission, according to its secretary, had informed the government that it had to postpone hearings scheduled in the last week of March and first week of April, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Further notifications were also kept on hold at the request of the Commission mainly due to Covid-19 pandemic. In its 7th Status report, the Commission has stated that it is likely to examine about 40 more witnesses and expects further extension of at least six months,” the letter stated.
The two-member commission, headed by retired high court justice J N Patel, was constituted by the then state government under CM Devendra Fadnavis on February 9, 2018, to probe into the sequence of events that led to violence on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. The commission has six terms of reference, including identifying causes of the January 1, 2018 riots that took place in Pune, identifying responsible groups, determining whether police and administration were prepared, and recommending short and long-term measures.
When contacted, commission secretary Palnitkar said, “We have informed the chief secretary about the suspension of further hearings due to lack of space.”
The Elgar Parishad conclave was first held on December 31, 2017, at Pune’s historic Shaniwarwada, ahead of the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, which was observed on January 1, 2018. Clashes broke out between right-wing forces and Dalits near the Vijay Stambh (victory pillar) at Bhima Koregaon, located in Perne village on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway.
