The retired judge of the Bombay High Court said the government's decision should have been in the larger public interest.
“I agree that a commission is not a judicial body and our orders are not enforceable or has any legal sanctity. We are just a fact-finding body and the government has the discretion to accept or reject our findings. But it should not be arbitrary. The decision (of the government) should be in public interest,” he said.
Patil said that an amendment should be made in the Commission of Inquiry Act giving findings of a commission some legal sanctity.
The panel, headed by Patil, and comprising former bureaucrat P Subramaniam, was set up in January 2011 by the state government after allegations were levelled against bureaucrats and former chief ministers for acts of commission and omission and for flouting rules while granting permission to the high-rise in south Mumbai.
