Justice Madan Lokur-headed committee asked to independently probe Delhi riots

new delhi: The Constitutional Conduct Group, a group of former civil servants who have earlier worked with the Centre and several state governments, have now invited six senior former public functionaries to independently probe the events before, during and after the north-east Delhi riots this February. The proposed panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan Lokur and will comprise three other former judges, one retired IAS officer and a former IPS officer.

A statement from the CCG said that the scale of violence seen during the riots and the communal divide that it had led to, called for an expert body to investigate the circumstances before, during and after the riots. The group added that this was necessary more now than ever given the fact that "the investigation carried out into the riots by the Delhi Police has evoked extensive critical commentary in recent times".

Other members invited to be a part of the investigating panel include Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi high courts and former Chairman, Law Commission; Justice RS Sodhi, former judge of the Delhi High Court; Justice Anjana Prakash, former judge of the Patna High Court; GK Pillai (Retd IAS), former Home Secretary in the Central government; and Meeran Chadha Borwankar (Retd IPS), former D-G of the Bureau of Police Research and Development.

According to the statement issued by the group, the committee will create a contemporary record of acts of omission and commission around the riots and their aftermath, adding that the committee would be allowed to formulate its own procedure. The committee is expected to submit its final report within 12 weeks of its functioning.

In addition to the events before, during and after the riots, the probe by this committee headed by Justice Lokur will look at the response of the state machinery in dealing with the violence, restoring law and order and other related issues. The committee will also look into the police response in investigating the riots.

Moreover, the committee will also probe the role of mainstream and social media in spreading information (both genuine and fake) before, during and after the riots and the subsequent impact it had.