A two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday delivered a split verdict on the State of Maharashtra’s review petition challenging the direction to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior police officers from both Hindu and Muslim communities to probe the Akola riots case.
While Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed the review petition, holding that the inclusion of officers from both communities ensured transparency and fairness and did not violate the principle of institutional secularism, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma took a different view, issuing notice on the limited question of whether such religiously based composition could be sustained under the Constitution.
The original order, passed on September 11, 2025, had criticised the police for failing to register an FIR despite clear information about a cognizable offence. The Court had directed the formation of a mixed-community SIT to prevent perceived bias.
