In an unusual move, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the appointment of Justice Akshay Mehta in the Nanavati-Shah Commission, which is probing the communal violence of 2002.

The Modi Government had appointed Mehta — he retired from the Gujarat High Court in December 2007 — as one of the two members of the Commission in April this year following the death of Justice K G Shah. The decision invited sharp reactions from various quarters since he is believed to have been instrumental in granting bail to Babu Bajrangi, a former VHP leader, who is the main accused in the Naroda-Patiya massacre of March 2002 that left at least 89 people dead.

Expressing “anguish and dismay”, the NCM, in a sharply worded letter written to Modi on Monday, told him to replace Mehta if his Government believes in fair play, justice and impartiality which are enshrined in the constitution. “These kind of actions will definitely result in minorities losing confidence in our institution of judicial system and governance,” it says.

Stating that wounds from the carnage of 2002 are yet to heal, the NCM asserted that the presence of a “tainted” judge like Mehta on the panel would be sure to create a sense of fear, insecurity and suspicion in the minority community.

Citing media reports, the NCM claimed that Justice Mehta had granted bail to the main accused without even going through the relevant files, whereas his predecessors had categorically rejected Bajrangi’s bail application keeping in view the magnitude of his crimes.