Supreme Court stays order for Akola SIT with Hindu, Muslim officers

NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a two-judge bench's order directing Maharashtra to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising police officers belonging to Hindu and Muslim communities, to probe two crimes related to the 2023 communal riots in Akola. Appearing for Maharashtra, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench of CJI B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria that police personnel lose their religious identity once they don the uniform, and a directive to set up the SIT based on the faith of members would violate the principles of secularism that governs the functioning of forces. He said the state is duty bound to conduct a free and fair probe and constitute an SIT - as was directed on Sept 11 by the bench of J