Overview
- A three-judge bench led by CJI B. R. Gavai, with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N. V. Anjaria, stayed paragraph 24 of the September 11 order directing an SIT with officers from both communities.
- Notice was issued on the state’s review petition, with the matter listed to return in four weeks.
- Maharashtra argued that mandating investigators by religion undermines institutional secularism, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta suggested the court could select SIT members itself.
- The state indicated it accepts the rest of the September directions, which included registering an FIR on Mohammad Afzal’s assault, disciplinary action against erring officials, and police sensitisation measures.
- The case arises from the May 2023 Akola riots in which Vilas Mahadevrao Gaikwad was killed and Afzal, then 17, alleged assault and police inaction, leading to a split review verdict last week by Justices Sanjay Kumar and S. C. Sharma.