Bombay HC holds 4 guilty in Best Bakery case
10 July 2012 12:40 AM GMT
The High Court of Bombay has upheld the conviction of four people and sentenced them to life term in the 2002 Best Bakery riot case. The court, however, acquitted five accused for want of evidence. A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice P D Kode had on 3 July reserved the judgement on the appeals filed by the accused against the trial court verdict.
The Court relied on the statements of the four injured eyewitness who had identified the accused. The eyewitnesses had said that the four accused were present at the place of the incident with swords and other weapons. The bench, however, overturned the trial court order and acquitted five people, saying that there was no evidence against them and that none of the witnesses had attributed any role to them during the riot.
On 1 March 2002, two days after the Godhra carnage, a mob had attacked Best Bakery in Vadodara, in which 14 people were killed. The mob had targeted the Sheikh family, which owned the place. In 2006, out of the 17 accused in the riot case, nine people were convicted and sentenced to life by a special court in Mumbai. All of them had then approached the high court challenging the order.
The case, however, has had its share of controversies. One the witnesses in the case, Yasmeen Shaikh, had filed a petition in the high court stating that she was lured into giving false testimony by the social activist Teesta Setalvad. Shaikh had then sought that her evidence be recorded again at the stage of appeal. The court, however, said that it would first decide on the appeals filed by the convicts.
Setalvad had also filed an intervening application asking the court to hear her view while deciding the appeals. The court will pronounce its order on the applications filed by Shaikh and Seetalvad later.
The Court relied on the statements of the four injured eyewitness who had identified the accused. The eyewitnesses had said that the four accused were present at the place of the incident with swords and other weapons. The bench, however, overturned the trial court order and acquitted five people, saying that there was no evidence against them and that none of the witnesses had attributed any role to them during the riot.
On 1 March 2002, two days after the Godhra carnage, a mob had attacked Best Bakery in Vadodara, in which 14 people were killed. The mob had targeted the Sheikh family, which owned the place. In 2006, out of the 17 accused in the riot case, nine people were convicted and sentenced to life by a special court in Mumbai. All of them had then approached the high court challenging the order.
The case, however, has had its share of controversies. One the witnesses in the case, Yasmeen Shaikh, had filed a petition in the high court stating that she was lured into giving false testimony by the social activist Teesta Setalvad. Shaikh had then sought that her evidence be recorded again at the stage of appeal. The court, however, said that it would first decide on the appeals filed by the convicts.
Setalvad had also filed an intervening application asking the court to hear her view while deciding the appeals. The court will pronounce its order on the applications filed by Shaikh and Seetalvad later.
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