All-clear for verdict in Gujarat riot cases

NEW DELHI: More than eight years after the Sabarmati Express was set afire killing scores of kar sevaks and sparking a conflagration that claimed thousands of innocent lives, the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the green signal to the pronouncement of the trial court verdict in the Godhra train burning case.On May 6, the SC had said that whilethe trial courts can continue proceedings in the nine sensitive riot cases, theyshould not pronounce verdicts in view of the appointment of a fresh probe by theSpecial Investigation Team which was to file supplementary chargesheets in eachcase. Besides, the Godhra train burning, the order covered Gulbarg Society,Sardarpura, Mehsana, Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gam, Anand (Ode), Himmatnagar andSabarkantha riot cases.With the SIT virtually about to wrap up its investigation, the SC lifted the stay it had ordered except in the Gulbarg Society case where the investigation into Zakia Jafri's allegation of dereliction of duty and destruction of evidence against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and other politicians, cops and bureaucrats is still on.Counsel for NGO `Citizens for Justice and Peace' Kamini Jaiswalhad argued before court that the judgment in the Godhra train burning case hadbeen reserved by the trial court since September 23 and that the fate of 69accused, who were in jail from February 2002, should be decidedearly.A Bench comprising Justices D K Jain, P Sathasivam and AftabAlam agreed and lifted the stay on pronouncement of verdict in these nine cases,except in Gulbarg Society case. This means, the judgment in the Godhra trainburning case would be out soon.The SC also issued notice to theGujarat government on a petition filed by eight witnesses in Mehaninagar riotcase seeking change of the trial judge alleging that the present presidingofficer had a "blatantly aggressive and biased attitude" towards them. It askedthe state to respond within two weeks and posted all the riot case relatedpetitions for hearing on December 2.However, the Bench rejectedCJP's plea for change in the composition of SIT headed by Raghavan saying theGujarat cadre police officer Himanshu Shukla must not be part of theinvestigation.Raghavan clarified that a Gujarat cadre police officerwas needed to understand linkages in investigation. "I assure the court ofutmost objectivity in the probe and that every investigation done by Shukla wassupervised by Assam cadre police officer Y C Modi."On the complaintof Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ahesan Jafri was killed by a mobduring the riots in Gulbarg Society, Raghavan told the court that the probe wasvirtually complete except the team seeking legal opinion relating to threeaccused and sought two weeks time. However, he did not elaborate on the natureof the legal opinion being sought by SIT against the accused.The orders came on petitions filed by the National Human Rights Commission, which in 2003 had moved the SC alleging sham investigation by Gujarat police and requested for a fresh probe by an independent agency.The apexcourt's green signal for completion of the trial and pronouncement of verdict inthese eight sensitive riot cases came after it was told by amicus curiae andsenior advocate Harish Salve that the SIT has established complete control overthe prosecution in these riot cases by appointing public prosecutors in each ofthem and taken steps to protect and insulate the witnesses from being threatenedor won over.