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The Concerned Citizens Tribunal – Gujarat 2002, was conceived as a response to the carnage that rocked the state of Gujarat following the Godhra tragedy on February 27, 2002. The eight-member Tribunal was constituted in consultation with a large number of groups from within Gujarat and the rest of the country. A copy of its terms of reference and a list of the groups urging that such a People’s Inquiry be launched is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure 1.

The Tribunal collected 2,094 oral and written testimonies, both individual and collective, from victim-survivors and also independent human rights groups, women’s groups, NGOs and academics. The documentation work done by relief camp managers and community leaders, from lists of persons killed or ‘missing’, to the meticulous tabulation of economic loss and religious desecration, is unprecedented and immense. The Tribunal has benefited greatly from these and they are being published in a separate volume of annexures to our report. In addition, over one dozen detailed fact-finding reports and inquiries were placed before the Tribunal and we have benefited greatly from a close scrutiny of these. We have also collected photographs, copies of FIRs, audio- and video-tapes, as evidence. The sheer volume of the evidence on record took an enormous amount of time and human resources to sift through and evaluate. Yet, as in all human endeavours, there may be deficiencies in the report. For these, we plead extenuation and understanding as unlike in case of official inquiries, it has been voluntary commitment from a whole team that has enabled the completion of this report.

The Tribunal pays tribute to the victim-survivors, individually and collectively, who deposed before us at great risk to their person in the simple hope that one day justice will be done and the guilty be punished. Even as the Tribunal sat in Ahmedabad, there were threats and premises like the circuit house at Shahibaug were denied us due to the omnipresence of prowling mobs. We acknowledge our great debt to the activists on the ground who worked day and night to bring the victims and reliable eyewitnesses to us.
After recording evidence, visiting sites, placing on record statements and collecting other relevant material, the Tribunal arrived at some prima facie conclusions. These
were forwarded along with our recommendations to both the central and state governments and their views were awaited. However, the Tribunal regrets that neither the state government nor the central government, or individual ministers to whom request letters were sent, responded. Though we are entitled to draw adverse conclusions from this lack of response, because that they did not respond to the interim findings, we do not propose to do so.
However, many senior government officials and police officers did agree to meet the Tribunal, responded to our queries, shared insightful observations and presented some valuable evidence to us. One minister also appeared and deposed before us. The Tribunal had assured this witness (minister) and other officials that their anonymity would be protected. Hence, while their valuable evidence is reflected in the Findings of the report, they have not been identified. Anonymity was urged especially because of the fear of reprisal from political bosses if names became known.
The Tribunal has independently accessed volumes of material that helped us arrive at our final Findings and Recommendations.