The terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001 shook the psyche of the nation. The people of India thus have a right to know ‘Who attacked Parliament? Soon after the attack, four people were arrested for their alleged role in the conspiracy, and the government, aided by the media, cited ‘evidence of overwhelming credibility’ that terrorists operating from Pakistan had organized the attack. This enabled the government to push the country to the brink of a Nuclear War with Pakistan, and enact the prevention of terrorism act, which was used in turn to attack minorities, Dalits and poor people. What was that evidence? Why did an eminent lawyer, intimately connected with the case, suggest that ‘the police failed to crack the case… hence they framed people’? Why did another eminent lawyer lament that the ‘media… published whatever the police and investigating agencies put out? What was the truth? This book tells the story of how civil institutions in India – the media, the police, the political executive and the judiciary – failed the test of democracy. As a result, the question ‘who attacked parliament’ remained unanswered, and the human rights of the accused were seriously violated. These conclusions are supported with extensive documentation from newspaper reports, judicial statements and judgments, public statements, and some important but little-known literature on the subject published earlier. Most of these are included in the Annexures. The book ends with a strong appeal for a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry.
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