SC gives go-ahead for probe into `fake encounters’ in Gujarat

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi continued to be haunted by court cases relating to ''fake encounters'' with the Supreme Court today directing former judge M B Shah to investigate over 20 cases of fake gun-battles in the state between 2002 and 2006.

Giving its orders on a case filed by noted songwriter Javed Akhtar and journalist B G Verghese, a bench comprising justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad said Shah, a former Supreme Court judge, could constitute his own investigating team of police officers from within and outside the state to look into the matter.

"We want the investigation to be thorough so that truth in each case is revealed," Justice Alam said.

Shah forms a one-man committee to look into fake encounters in Gujarat, a state praised by businessmen for Modi's astute leadership but reviled by liberal thinkers because of the chief minister's ''pogrom'' against Muslims in 2003 and his ''generally anti-minority'' attitude.

The apex court's order made it clear that Justice Shah would steer clear of the cases that are already under investigation on the directions of various superior courts, including the Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court itself.

The order says that the monitoring authority would submit its first report on the progress of the investigation into fake gun battle cases in three months' time (where innocent people are bumped off) within three months.