Kapur Commission
Encyclopedia
The release of the conspirators in the Gandhi murder case in 1964 and the resultant celebrations in Pune
and Ketkar's remarks that he was aware of Nathuram Godse
's desire to kill Gandhi, led to a public outrage and resulted in the forming of the Pathak commission. When Pathak became central minister and then governor
of Mysore state
, the Kapur commission was set up in 1966 as the commission of inquiry into the conspiracy to murder Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It was a one-man commission formed of Justice Jivanlal Kapur of the Supreme Court. It took three years to complete its work. It strongly indicted those responsible for Gandhi's security with negligence. It was provided with evidence not produced in the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides - Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his secretary. It exonerated Savarkar for want of corroborative evidence to support the approver's testimony, however with the remark that the facts on the whole demolished any other theroy but the conspiracy of Savarkar and his group in the murder of Gandhi.
, Madanlal Pahwa
, Vishnu Karkare
from jail after the expiry of their sentences. Dr. G. V. Ketkar, grandson of Bal Gangadhar Tilak
, former editor of Kesari and then editor of Tarun Bharat, who presided over the function, revealed six months before the actual event, that Nathuram Godse
disclosed his ideas to kill Gandhi and was opposed by Ketkar. Ketkar said that he passed the information to Balukaka Kanitkar who conveyed it to the then Chief Minister of Bombay State
, B. G. Kher
. The Indian Express
in its issue of November 14, 1964, commented adversely on Ketkar's conduct that Ketkar's fore-knowledge of the assassination of Gandhi added to the mystery of the circumstances preceding to the assassination. Ketkar was arrested. A public furore ensued both outside and inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and both houses of the Indian parliament. There was a suggestion that there had been a deliberate dereliction of duty on the part of people in high authority, who failed to act responsibly even though they had information that could have prevented Gandhi's shooting. Under pressure of 29 members of parliament and public opinion, the then-Union home minister, Gulzarilal Nanda
, appointed Gopal Swarup Pathak, M. P. and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India
, in charge of inquiry of conspiracy to murder Gandhi. Since both Kanitkar and Kher were deceased, the central government intended on conducting a thorough inquiry with the help of old records in consultation with the government of Maharashtra, Pathak was given three months to conduct his inquiry. But as Pathak was appointed a central minister and then governor of Mysore state, the commission of inquiry was reconstituted and Jevanlal Kapur a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India
was appointed to conduct the inquiry.
, Delhi
, Nagpur
, Dharwad
, Pune
, Baroda and Chandigarh
. Counsels for governments of Maharashtra and India were R. S. Kotwal and B. B. Lal respectively, they argued their cases for 37 and 13 days respectively. G. V. Ketkar was the first witness to be examined. J. D. Nagarwala and Morarji Desai
were the key witnesses who were examined for 15 and 7 days respectively. J. D. Nagarwala was the Deputy Commissioner of Police who was appointed as investigating officer on the murder case and Morarji Desai the Chief Minister of the then Bombay State.
, Sanjivi. The commission remarked sumarising the Delhi investigation, on the investigation in Mumbai the commission observed
The Kapur Commission was provided with evidence not produced in the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides - Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his secretary, it exonerated Savarkar for want of corroborative evidence in support of the approver’s confession, however it remarked that the facts taken together were
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
and Ketkar's remarks that he was aware of Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Vinayak Godse , from the city of Pune, India was a Hindutva activist and journalist, who was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with his brother Gopal Godse and six other co-conspirators, he executed a plot to assassinate Gandhi.-Early life:Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Pune...
's desire to kill Gandhi, led to a public outrage and resulted in the forming of the Pathak commission. When Pathak became central minister and then governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Mysore state
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
, the Kapur commission was set up in 1966 as the commission of inquiry into the conspiracy to murder Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It was a one-man commission formed of Justice Jivanlal Kapur of the Supreme Court. It took three years to complete its work. It strongly indicted those responsible for Gandhi's security with negligence. It was provided with evidence not produced in the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides - Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his secretary. It exonerated Savarkar for want of corroborative evidence to support the approver's testimony, however with the remark that the facts on the whole demolished any other theroy but the conspiracy of Savarkar and his group in the murder of Gandhi.
Events leading to its formation
On November 12, 1964, a religious programme was organised in Pune, to celebrate the release of the Gopal GodseGopal Godse
Gopal Vinayak Godse , was the brother of Nathuram Godse and one of the conspirators in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948. He was the last one to survive and lived his last days in Pune, Maharashtra, India....
, Madanlal Pahwa
Madanlal Pahwa
Madanlal Pahwa came to India in 1947 as a refugee after the partition of India. The plight of refugees intensified his anger against Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders...
, Vishnu Karkare
Vishnu Ramkrishna Karkare
Vishnu Ramakrishna Karkare , a Hindu Mahasabha activist was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in an attempt to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.-Early life:...
from jail after the expiry of their sentences. Dr. G. V. Ketkar, grandson of Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Lokmanya Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called the great leader "Father of the Indian unrest"...
, former editor of Kesari and then editor of Tarun Bharat, who presided over the function, revealed six months before the actual event, that Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Vinayak Godse , from the city of Pune, India was a Hindutva activist and journalist, who was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with his brother Gopal Godse and six other co-conspirators, he executed a plot to assassinate Gandhi.-Early life:Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Pune...
disclosed his ideas to kill Gandhi and was opposed by Ketkar. Ketkar said that he passed the information to Balukaka Kanitkar who conveyed it to the then Chief Minister of Bombay State
Bombay State
The Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
, B. G. Kher
B. G. Kher
Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher was the first chief minister of Bombay State which consisted of present day Maharastra and Gujrat States of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1954...
. The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
in its issue of November 14, 1964, commented adversely on Ketkar's conduct that Ketkar's fore-knowledge of the assassination of Gandhi added to the mystery of the circumstances preceding to the assassination. Ketkar was arrested. A public furore ensued both outside and inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and both houses of the Indian parliament. There was a suggestion that there had been a deliberate dereliction of duty on the part of people in high authority, who failed to act responsibly even though they had information that could have prevented Gandhi's shooting. Under pressure of 29 members of parliament and public opinion, the then-Union home minister, Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician and an economist with specialization in labour problems. He was the interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime...
, appointed Gopal Swarup Pathak, M. P. and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
, in charge of inquiry of conspiracy to murder Gandhi. Since both Kanitkar and Kher were deceased, the central government intended on conducting a thorough inquiry with the help of old records in consultation with the government of Maharashtra, Pathak was given three months to conduct his inquiry. But as Pathak was appointed a central minister and then governor of Mysore state, the commission of inquiry was reconstituted and Jevanlal Kapur a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
was appointed to conduct the inquiry.
Working
Justice Jivanlal Kapur was appointed as a one-man Commission to conduct inquiry into the conspiracy to murder Gandhi on November 21, 1966 and was completed on September 30, 1969. It examined 101 witnesses, 407 documents were produced, by witnesses, and the governments of India and Maharashtra. It had 162 sittings and traveled to MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
, Dharwad
Dharwad
Dharwad, also known as Dharwar, is a city and a DISTRICT PLACE in India's Karnataka state.Dharwad is the administrative seat of the Dharwad District. The municipality of Hubli-Dharwad covers an area of 200.23 km²...
, Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Baroda and Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
. Counsels for governments of Maharashtra and India were R. S. Kotwal and B. B. Lal respectively, they argued their cases for 37 and 13 days respectively. G. V. Ketkar was the first witness to be examined. J. D. Nagarwala and Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
were the key witnesses who were examined for 15 and 7 days respectively. J. D. Nagarwala was the Deputy Commissioner of Police who was appointed as investigating officer on the murder case and Morarji Desai the Chief Minister of the then Bombay State.
Findings
The commission pointed out various lapses and flaws on part of the Inspector General of Police of DelhiDelhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Sanjivi. The commission remarked sumarising the Delhi investigation, on the investigation in Mumbai the commission observed
The Kapur Commission was provided with evidence not produced in the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides - Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his secretary, it exonerated Savarkar for want of corroborative evidence in support of the approver’s confession, however it remarked that the facts taken together were