Centre today decided to appoint a Commission of Inquiry into the snooping on a woman in Gujarat allegedly at the behest of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act which empowers the Centre to set up such a commission. The commission likely to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge will submit its report within three months.

An official statement said, the Cabinet has decided to constitute the inquiry into the incidents of physical and electronic surveillance in the states of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi allegedly without authorisation.

The Centre's decision over-rules the contention of the Gujarat government that it was a state matter and it had already appointed a commission for probe into the matter.

The Union Cabinet's decision came against the backdrop of fresh claims that the alleged snooping was conducted beyond the state of Gujarat.