SC to hear on Nov 26 Zakia''s plea against clean chit to Modi in Gujarat riots

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 19

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred till November 26 hearing on former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri's widow Zakia Jafri's petition challenging the clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- who was the chief minister of Gujarat during 2002 riots -- and others. 

The SIT had exonerated them of allegations of a larger conspiracy behind the riots.

"The matter will take some time for hearing," a bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar said posting her plea for hearing on November 26.

Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed by a mob that attacked Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002 during the riots that broke out following the Godhra train carnage that claimed the lives of 58 kar sevaks.

Alleging a larger conspiracy behind the riots, Zakia had in 2006 demanded registration of a criminal case against the then Gujarat Chief Minister Modi, some ministers and bureaucrats. The Supreme Court had in 2008 ordered the state government to re-investigate nine major riots cases, including the Gulberg massacre.

On behalf of the SIT, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi questioned the maintainability of Zakia's petition and activist Teesta Setalvad's locus standi in the case. "It can't go on endlessly," he submitted.

During the previous hearing, Jafri's counsel had said notice needs to be issued in the plea as it pertains to the aspect of alleged "larger conspiracy" during the period from February 27, 2002 and May 2002 and had also maintained that after the SIT gave a clean chit in its closure report in the case before a trial judge, a protest was filed by the petitioner which was dismissed by the magistrate without considering "substantiated merits".

On February 8, 2012, the SIT had filed a closure report, giving clean chit to Modi and 63 others, including government officials, saying there was "no prosecutable evidence" against them.

"According to SIT, no offence has been established against any of the 58 persons listed in Zakia's complaint," metropolitan magistrate MS Bhatt had said in his April 2012 order on petitions by Zakia Jafri and other who had named Modi and 57 others for alleged criminal conspiracy in the 2002 riots.

The Gujarat High Court had in October last year upheld the clean chit given to Modi and others by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT.

Zakia's petition has now challenged the SIT's findings and the magistrate's order accepting its closure report filed in 2012.