Justice Nanavati, ex-SC judge who probed Godhra, anti-Sikh riots, passes away at 86
Ahmedabad, Dec 18: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati, who headed commissions which inquired into the 1984 anti-Sikh and 2002 post-Godhra riots, passed away here on Saturday.
Nanavati, 86, passed away a cardiac failure at 1:15 pm at his residence here, family members said.
The commission headed by him had given a clean chit to the then Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government with regard to the post-Godhra communal riots.
Nanavati, born on February 17, 1935, was enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay High Court on February 11, 1958.
He was appointed as permanent Judge of the Gujarat High Court from July 19, 1979, and transferred to the Orissa High Court on December 14, 1993.
Nanavati was appointed as the chief justice of the Orissa High Court with effect from January 31, 1994.
He was transferred as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court from September 28, 1994. Nanavati was appointed as judge of the Supreme Court with effect from March 6, 1995, and retired on February 16, 2000.
After the burning of two coaches of Sabarmati Express at Godhra in which 59 'karsevaks' died and the subsequent riots in February 2002, then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi set up a one-member commission of Justice Nanavati for conducting inquiry.
It was to probe both the train burning incident and the subsequent communal violence in which over 1,000 people, mostly from the minority community, died.
The commission was later reconstituted with Nanavati as its chairman and former Gujarat High Court judge K G Shah as a member. After Justice Shah died, former HC judge Akshay Mehta took his place.
The commission submitted its report in 2014 when Anandiben Patel was chief minister. But it was tabled before the Gujarat Assembly in December 2019, when Vijay Rupani was chief minister.
The commission gave a clean chit to the then Modi-led state government with regard to the riots.
The riots were "not a pre-planned conspiracy or orchestrated violence," and there was no substance in allegation that state authorities turned a blind eye to the violence, the commission said.
Not did it find any evidence against "any religious or political party or organisations as such," though local members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal took part in the incidents which happened in respective localities, the commission said.
Earlier, Justice Nanavati was appointed to a one-man commission to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre in May 2000.
The commission said in its report, submitted in 2005, that there was "credible evidence" against then Union minister and Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, and also pointed to probable roles of various other Congress leaders.
The riots had broken out following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
