Overview
- Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed Maharashtra’s review plea and upheld the September 11 directive for a Special Investigation Team with senior Hindu and Muslim officers to ensure transparency in the probe.
- Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that mandating the team’s composition by religious identity requires consideration, issued notice, and called for an open-court hearing.
- The bench’s divergence sends the matter to the Chief Justice of India for constitution of an appropriate larger bench and further hearing.
- The state argued the directive impinges the principle of institutional secularism and prejudges bias among public servants, as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised precedent concerns; Justice Kumar also criticized the state’s procedural mentioning before both judges.
- The underlying case stems from the May 2023 Akola clashes after a social media post, with the Supreme Court earlier flagging police failures under Section 154 CrPC and directing disciplinary action over the failure to register an FIR.