The Union Government has submitted before the Supreme Court that if the court directed it, the authorities would institute a CBI probe to look into all the 15 Gujarat riot-related cases pending trial in the state.

The affidavit was filed by Kalpana Narain, Director with the Union Home Ministry.

The petitions will be heard by a bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat on Tuesday.

The National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) and other petitioners have demanded court direction for investigation by an independent agency as it was believed that the state police did not carry out a fair probe into these cases as most of the accused allegedly belonged to the Sangh Parivar or  were supporters of the state government.

The petitioners opine that free and fair investigation is possible only if these cases are investigated by an independent investigative agenc like the CBI.

“It is respectfully submitted that in light of all these circumstances, the Central Government submits it would have no objection to the investigation of the cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation and transfer outside the State of Gujarat as sought for by the Petitioner, if so desired by this Hon’ble Court,’’ the affidavit said.