PUCL Karnataka Statement of Somashekar Commission
8th February 2011
PRESS RELEASE
B.K. Somashekar Report
We are greatly disappointed with the final report released by Justice B.K.Somashekar commission Enquiring the attack on churches.
While the interim report clearly held responsible some hindu fundamentalist organisations, Police, state administration and the Govt. The final report appears to have absolved the govt and the Police.
An attempt appears to have been made to ignore the role of hindu fundamentalist organisations and state in the final report. a There appears to be a clear cut understanding between the Commission and the Govt to patch up the damage done by the interim report.
The final report very clearly failed to uphold and protect the Constitutional rights of minorities and appears to have gone beyond its limits in saying that there should be law to ban conversions.
Since Independence, every time the Govts have appointed a Judicial Commission they have invariably failed to do justice to their job and even while Justice was done those reports have either not seen the light of day or never implemented by the Govt. In the process the question of appointing judicial commissions has become an futile exercise.
The Commission seems to have imagined certain things in spite of overwhelming evidence recorded by the media and presented before the Commission when it says that some attacks/ injuries were self inflicted.
In short the Commission has contradicted itself and brought out a hotch potch report with a clear intention of protecting the Govt, its administration and the fundamentalist organizations from getting banned from the state.
In view of this, we request the Govt to institute a CBI inquiry as the report has failed to pin point the culprits and in fact created an irreparable communal divide which may permanently damage the secular fabric of India.
For People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka
P.B. Dsa
President
Dr V. Lakshminarayana
General Secretary