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{{Use Indian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Girish Thakorlal Nanavati
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| office1 = Justice, [[Supreme Court of India]]
| term_start1 = 6 March 1995
| term_end1 = 16 February 2000
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1935|2|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Jambusar]], [[Gujarat]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Retired [[judge]]
| spouse =
}}

'''Girish Thakorlal Nanavati''' (born 17 February 1935 in [[Jambusar]], Gujarat) is a retired judge from the [[Supreme Court of India]]. After his retirement he headed two commissions inquiring into the [[1984 Anti-Sikh riots]] and the [[Nanavati-Mehta commission|Godhra riots]].

==Early life==
Judge Nanavati was the eldest of twelve children born to a family of professionals. In his family, his father, grandfather and uncle were all [[lawyers]]. Judge Nanavati studied at [[St. Xavier's College, Bombay|St. Xaviers College]] in Mumbai. After finishing his education in the arts, he enrolled in the Government Law College in [[Mumbai]] to receive his bachelor's and master's degrees in [[law]].<ref name="Bhatt">{{Cite news |author=Bhatt, Sheela |date=17 February 2005 |title=I haven't absolved Cong: Nanavati |newspaper=The Rediff Special |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/17spec1.htm |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6bla61A1q?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/17spec1.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Career==
Mr. G.T. Nanavati enrolled as an [[advocate]] in the [[Bombay High Court]] in 1958. Circumstances forced him to return to Gujarat from Mumbai when the [[wikt:bifurcation|bifurcation]] of the Bombay state in 1960 left him a hard choice. His wish to practice at the prestigious Bombay High Court went unfulfilled and left for [[Ahmedabad]].

His practice in Ahmedabad was very low key. He dealt with a smattering of revenue cases, but his true potential was realized when he began to practice [[criminal]] [[Legal case|cases]]. He received and accepted an offer to become a [[public prosecutor]] in 1964, which became a turning point in the young man's career. At that time, [[High Courts of India|high court]] judges, not the government, appointed prosecutors. This began a fifteen-year stint prosecuting cases before the high court.

He was appointed a permanent judge to the [[Gujarat High Court]] in 1979. Fourteen years later he was transferred to the high court in [[Orissa, India|Orissa]]. A year later, in 1994, he was appointed [[chief justice]] of the High Court of Orissa. He was transferred again eight months later to the [[Karnataka High Court]]. In March 1995 he was appointed as a judge to the [[Supreme Court of India]] by the Congress government. Judge Nanavati retired on 16 February 2000.<ref name="SC-Bio">{{Cite web|title=Former Judges: Hon'ble Mr. Justice G.T. Nanavati |publisher=Supreme Court of India |url=http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/89_gtnanavati.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512061826/http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/89_gtnanavati.htm |archive-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Nanavati Commission==
Nanavati was appointed by the [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] government to probe the [[1984 Anti-Sikh riots]]. He was the sole member of the [[Nanavati commission]].<ref>{{Cite news |author=Kumar, Vinay |date=9 August 2005 |title=Credible evidence against Tytler: Nanavati |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/08/09/stories/2005080911440100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908060948/http://hindu.com/2005/08/09/stories/2005080911440100.htm |archive-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy |access-date=20 September 2006 }}</ref> The commission incriminated [[Indian National Congress]] politicians [[Sajjan Kumar]] and [[Jagdish Tytler]]. Nanavati has stated that evidence indicated that it was a "lapse on part of the civil administration" not to call the [[Indian Army]] in a timely fashion, "resulting in large-scale rioting and loss of lives".{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

==Godhra riots==
{{main|Nanavati-Mehta commission}}
In March 2002, Judge Nanavati was appointed to head a two-man commission investigating the [[2002 Gujarat riots|2002 Godhra riots]], replacing Judge K. G. Shah.<ref>{{Cite news|title=After 12 years, Nanavati Commission submits final report on 2002 Gujarat riots |newspaper=[[Indian Express]]|date=18 November 2014 |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat/nanavati-commission-submits-final-report-on-2002-gujarat-riots/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118125102/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat/nanavati-commission-submits-final-report-on-2002-gujarat-riots/ |archive-date=18 November 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout the proceedings and in its final report of November 2014, the commission concluded that there had been no serious lapses by either the police, nor the state administration in dealing with the riots.<ref>{{Cite news|title=No police lapse in Gujarat riots: Justice Nanavati |newspaper=Rediff |date=18 May 2003 |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/18guj.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030523192141/http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/18guj.htm |archive-date=23 May 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Jaffrelot 77–80">{{cite journal|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|title=Gujarat 2002: What Justice for the Victims?|journal=Economic & Political Weekly|date=25 February 2012|volume=47|issue=8|pages=77–80|url=http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/8951350/680768191/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222309/http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/8951350/680768191/ |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The report itself has yet to be made public.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Tripathi, Rahul |date=4 July 2015 |title=UN rapporteur Christof Heyns urges government to make Nanavati commission report on 2002 riots public |newspaper=[[The Economic Times]] |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-04/news/64090875_1_nanavati-commission-report-final-report-un-report |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6bldRFOW4?url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-04/news/64090875_1_nanavati-commission-report-final-report-un-report |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanavati, G.T.}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Hindu law jurists]]
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of India]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of the Karnataka High Court]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:People from Bharuch district]]
[[Category:Judges of the Orissa High Court]]
[[Category:Judges of the Gujarat High Court]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of the Orissa High Court]]

G. T. Nanavati - Revision history

>InternetArchiveBot at 23:27, 24 August 2020