It is time to ensure that judicial time and talent do not go waste by amending the act to make the findings of a commission of inquiry binding on the government that set it up. If, at all, the government is serious, it should declare at the time of setting up the commission that it would accept the report and act upon it. The legislation should be amended and brought on line with the Truth Commission in South Africa and similar laws in other countries, which make the findings of the commission binding on the government. The power to commit for contempt must be invested in the commission to prevent it from being reduced to a joke by the powerful.

Establishing of a commission of inquiry must be an honest effort to discover what went wrong with a view to remedy the situation and learn lessons to avoid similar events in the future. The facts brought to light must result in appropriate action against persons in a court of law and immediate implementation of administrative measures to rectify the lapses highlighted. Above all, there must be political will to act, and act firmly and decisively, without fear or favour. Absent such will, the quest for truth by a commission of inquiry will be the quest for the Golden Fleece sans Jason and sans the Argonauts!

The writer, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, headed a commission to inquire into the riots in Mumbai during December 1992-January 1993express@expressindia.com