Ultimately, the Hon\\'ble Minister of Food and Supplies Department, Government of West Bengal was approached with a request for a suitable accommodation and he promptly responded by providing the present accommodation, the formal occupation of which could be obtained only on November 16, 1999. Immediately thereafter, on December 3, 1999 to be precise, the Commission issued a Notification in accordance with the provision of Rule 5 of the Commissions of Inquiry (Central) Rules, 1972 through DAVP, New Delhi inviting all individuals, groups of persons, associations, institutions and organisations acquainted with or having knowledge directly or indirectly of the facts and circumstances relating to the maters referred to the Commission (which were detailed in the Notification) and having interest in the proceedings before the Commission or wishing to assist the Commission in making the inquiry into the matters referred to the Commission to furnish their statements relating and relevant to the matters in question. The manner in which the statements were to be filed were also detailed in that Notification, a copy of which is annexed to this report (Annexure-A).
2.2 In response thereto sixty-three statements were received (later on, some of the deponents filed supplementary statements which were also entertained barring a few, as they were belated and no reasonable explanation was forthcoming for the unusual delay). However, no such statement was filed by the Central Government or the Government of West Bengal spelling out their respective stands. Once the compliance with the statutory threshold formality referred to above was over the Commission held its first public sitting on March 23, 2000. On that date the Commission examined the statements filed by the parties, heard them and/or their representatives present regarding modalities to be followed in conducting the inquiry and passed an order directing the Government of India and the Government of West Bengal to produce the files/documents listed therein, relying primarily on those statements.
Further orders were passed from time to time asking the above two Governments to produce more files/documents and to comply with its earlier directions regarding production of files/documents. In compliance therewith quit a number of files/documents have been produced by the two Governments, while rest of the files/documents called for have not been. However, grounds for non-production of some of those files/documents have been furnished through affidavits in terms of the directions of the Commission which will be considered at the appropriate stage.
2.3 Since then the Commission held public sittings in India and abroad and in its sittings in Kolkata and New Delhi the Commission furnished, to evidence its transparency, copies of Status Reports, incorporating and detailing all its earlier activities and steps taken by it for an expeditious and meaningful inquiry till the date of hearing, to each of the interested parties and/or their learned Counsel. Besides, similar Status Reports, prepared initially every fortnight and later on monthly, were forwarded to the Ministry f Home Affairs as requested. All the Status Reports sent to the Government of India are appended to this report of inquiry in separate volumes (Volumes IIA and IIB).
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