Former Supreme Court judge Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati widely known as G.T. Nanavati passed away at his residence in Ahmedabad on Saturday at the age of 86. He is largely known for heading the commissions that probed the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 Godhra Riots inquiry commission.
Maulik Nanavati, the son of Justice Nanavati, said that Justice Nanavati suffered a massive heart attack around 1:30 pm. His son is a practicing advocate in the Gujarat High Court.
Justice Nanavati was born on February 17, 1935 and was enrolled as an advocate in 1958. He started his legal practice before the Bombay High Court after enrollment. He remained on the Government Pleaders’ Panel and was later appointed as a judge of the Gujarat High Court in 1979.
In 1993, he was transferred to the Orissa High Court. On January 31, 1994 he was appointed its Chief Justice. Thereafter, Justice Nanavati was transferred as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court in September 1994.
On March 6, 1995, Justice Nanavati was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court and on February 16, 2000 he retired as the Judge of Supreme Court.
In 2014, Justice Nanavati submitted his report on 2002 Godhra Riots. The report gave a clean chit to the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others accused of being involved in the 2002 Godhra riots.