Archbishop Raphael Cheenath S.V.D. v. State of Orissa
Background
Following the August 2008 assassination of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district, Orissa, communal violence broke out between Hindu and Christian communities, resulting in dozens of deaths, thousands of displaced persons, and damage to hundreds of houses and over 200 churches/prayer houses. The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar filed this public interest petition (with three connected petitions) seeking adequate police deployment, proper relief-camp facilities, compensation for victims, an independent inquiry commission, CBI investigation into the violence, and special courts to try the offenders. The Supreme Court monitored the situation through a series of interim orders from September 2008 through subsequent years as the State of Orissa reported on relief and investigation measures.
Decision Breakdown
By the time of final disposal, the State had registered 827 cases of communal violence, of which 512 resulted in chargesheets and 315 in final reports (no offence made out or offenders not traced); of 362 completed trials, only 78 resulted in conviction (493 persons convicted, more remaining in appeal). The Court noted this high proportion of final reports and acquittals was "quite disturbing" and directed the State to review the 315 closed cases and the unjustified acquittals to ensure offenders are brought to book, and to examine root causes of the unrest to prevent recurrence. It declined, at this late stage with investigations already finalised, to hand over the probe to the CBI, noting the State had already set up two Special Courts (satisfying that prayer). The Court closed with a reminder, quoting the St. Xavier's College case, that minorities are "as much children of the soil as the majority" and deserve a sense of security and equality, and disposed of all the connected petitions with the directions given, without ordering a CBI transfer or separate commission of inquiry.
Lesson Learnt
Courts can keep ongoing supervisory oversight over a state's response to communal violence for years through a single writ petition, but once investigations and trials are substantially complete, they will generally decline to transfer probes to central agencies like the CBI, instead directing the state itself to revisit any troublingly high rate of closed cases or acquittals.