The petition sought a direction from the court to the Commission to summon Modi before it.

Last week, the Gujarat High Court had reserved its order on the petition demanding to summon Narendra Modi and three others at the Nanavati-Mehta Commission for cross-examination.

A division bench of HC comprising Justices Akil Kureshi and Sonia Gokani reserved the order on the application moved by one Amrish Patel from Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), which is representing some of the 2002 riots victims at the Commission.

According to the petitioner’s lawyer Mukul Sinha, they had originally demanded a direction to summon Modi. However, the petition was subsequently amended and a direction was sought to the Nanavati-Mehta Commission to summon Modi and four others, which include the then minister of state (home) Gordhan Zadaphia and the three former staff members of the Chief Minister’s Office, Omprakash Singh, Tanmay Mehta and Sanjay Bhavsar. The three were ordered by the Commission to file their affidavits over certain issues but their cross-examination was never allowed by others. The Commission has not summoned Modi at all.

Zadaphia has been summoned and cross-examined.

Originally, the petitioner had moved an application in this regard before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission, which turned it down. The petitioner then moved the HC, where a single-judge bench upheld the Commission’s order.