Girish Thakorlal Nanavati
G. T. Nanavati
Born	17 February 1935 Jambusar, Gujarat
Occupation	Retired Judge

Girish Thakorlal Nanavati (born 1935 in Jambusar, Gujarat) is a retired judge from the Supreme Court of India. After his retirement he has headed two commissions inquiring into the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots and the Godhra riots. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ... 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots took place in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. ...

Early Life

Judge Nanavati was the oldest of twelve children born to a family of professionals. In his family, his father, grandfather and uncle were all lawyers. Judge Nanavati studied at St. Xaviers College in Mumbai. After finishing his education in the arts, he enrolled in the Government Law College in Mumbai to receive his bachelors and masters degrees in law^[1]. For information on the type of fish called Lawyer, see the article on Burbot. ... St. ... MumbaÄ« (Marathi: मुंबई, IPA: ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and the most populous city of India, with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006)[1]. Mumbai is located on the west coast of Maharashtra. ... MumbaÄ« (Marathi: मुंबई, IPA: ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and the most populous city of India, with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006)[1]. Mumbai is located on the west coast of Maharashtra. ... Weighing scales represent the way law balances peoples interests For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ...

Career

Nanavati enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay High Court in 1958. Circumstances forced him to return to Gujarat from Mumbai when the bifurcation of the Bombay state in 1960 left him a hard choice. His wish to practice at the prestigious Bombay high court went unfulfilled and left for Ahmedabad. It has been suggested that Barrister#Advocates in Scotland be merged into this article or section. ... The Bombay High Court was inaugurated on August 14, 1862. ... The noun bifurcation (from latin bifurcare, to split (fork) into two), has several related meanings. ... Ahmedabad (Gujarati: , Hindi: ) or is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the seventh largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population of almost 70 lakhs (7. ...

His practice in Ahmedabad was very low key. He dealt with a smattering of revenue cases, but his true potential was realized when he began to practice criminal cases. He received and accepted an offer to become a public prosecutor in 1964, which became a turning point in the young man's career. At that time, high court judges, not the government, used to appoint prosecutors. This began a fifteen year stint prosecuting cases before the high court. Ahmedabad (Gujarati: , Hindi: ) or is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the seventh largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population of almost 70 lakhs (7. ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... Case can refer to: An instance or example Letter case (the distinction between majuscule and minuscule letters) or sentence case Cases in linguistic morphology; see declension and list of grammatical cases A term of jurisprudence, referring to the evidence against a defendant or suspect Steve Case, head of AOL Time... In countries adopting the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system, the prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution. ... High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. ... In countries adopting the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system, the prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution. ...

He was appointed a permanent judge to the Gujarat high court in 1979. 14 years later he was transferred to the high court in Orissa. A year later, in 1994, he was appointed Chief justice of the high court of Orissa. He was transferred again 8 months later to the Karnataka high court. In March 1995 he was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of India. Judge Nanavati retired in February 2000^[2]. Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. ... Orissa   (Devanagari: उड़ीसा) (2001 provisional pop. ... The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth- or other countries with an Anglosaxon type of justice, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, the Supreme... Orissa   (Devanagari: उड़ीसा) (2001 provisional pop. ... Karnātakā   (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ) (IPA: ) is one of the four southern states of India. ... The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ...

Nanavati Commission

Judge Nanavati was appointed by the NDA to probe the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. He was the one-man commission^[3] aptly named the Nanavati commission. The commission incriminated UPA politicians Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. He has stated that evidence indicated that it was a "lapse on part of the civil administration" not to call the Indian Army in a timely fashion, "resulting in large-scale rioting and loss of lives". The National Democratic Alliance is a name used by at least two groups India - National Democratic Alliance (India) Iraq - National Democratic Alliance (Iraq) Sudan - National Democratic Alliance (Sudan) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots took place in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. ... The Nanavati Commission was appointed by Indian Parliament to investigate the serious violence against the Sikh community in India following the assasination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October 1984. ... United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is the present ruling coalition of political parties in India. ... Sajjan Kumar (b. ... Jagdish Tytler (b. ... The Indian Army is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of India and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. ...

Response to Godhra Riots

When asked about the 2002 Godhra riots in 2003 Justice Nanavati stated that evidence recorded till that date had not indicated any 'serious lapses' on the police or the administration of Gujarat during these riots. These comments came before the two-man commission investigating the riots had recorded testimony in Ahmedabad and Vadodara^[4]. Combatants Indian Muslims Indian Hindus Commanders Gujarati Muslims Gujarati Hindus Casualties 790 dead 254 dead The term 2002 Gujarat violence (reported by Luke Harding in an opinion-editorial of The Guardian as the Gujarat Genocide[1]) refers to the violent incidents that took place in the state of Gujarat in... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... Ahmedabad (Gujarati: , Hindi: ) or is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the seventh largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population of almost 70 lakhs (7. ... Vadodara (Gujarati: વડોદરા, Hindi: बडोदा),  , also known as Baroda, is the third most-populated town in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. ...

Justice Nanavati later clarified to the Indian Express that his statement was that "no serious allegation had come on record against police and the administration during the district level hearings." He further explained that "This does not include the hearings conducted with regard to Godhra incident and affidavits which have been filed before the Commission," of which there were over 3000 from riot victims^[5]. The Indian Express is an Indian newspaper started by Ram Nath Goenka, and is published from New Delhi. ...

Criticism

His appointment, however, has failed to satisfy the critics, who termed it an "eye-wash" and also stated while those opposing the Shah Commission were demanding appointment of a current Supreme Court judge and wanted someone also from outside of Gujarat to ensure total impartiality, the Government had gave them only half their desires, appointing a retired Gujarati judge.^[6]. The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ... Impartiality is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather then on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons. ... The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, is an umbrella term used to describe traditionally Gujarati speaking peoples who can trace their ancestry to the Gujarat region in India. ...

After the Nanavati panel submitted their results Judge Nanavati was criticised by the Chief Justice of Gujarat, B.J. Diwan, who considered that a statement by an inquiring judge at an unfinished stage of an inquiry was quite improper.

Notable Quotes

I fought more than 3,000 criminal cases, more than 1,000 tax and Constitution-related cases and also innumerable cases concerning environment and corporate laws. There was hardly any Indian law I haven't dealt with at that time." [1]

Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

References