Gujarat riots: Clean chit to Modi, court rejects Zakia Jafri’s plea
27 Dec 2013 6:31 AM IST
SIT had said there was no ‘prosecutable’ evidence against Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots. After the court’s verdict, Modi tweeted ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Metropolitan Magistrate B J Ganatra while pronouncing the order in open court told Zakia’s counsel Mihir Desai that her petition has been rejected and they have the liberty to approach a higher court. The court rejected the testimony of suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt who claimed that Modi as chief minister had asked officials to look the other way as rioters attacked Muslim neighbourhoods.
Zakia’s husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 68 killed in the Gulbarga society massacre during the post-Godhra riots. Zakia had filed a protest petition in April this year objecting to the SIT’s closure report absolving Modi of complicity in the conspiracy behind the carnage. Zakia had filed a complaint against 63 persons, including Modi, his ministerial colleagues, top police officers and BJP functionaries accusing them of a wider conspiracy in the riots which left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.
After completing its investigation on Zakia’s complaint, the SIT had filed its closure report last year in February. SIT concluded that despite difficulties in obtaining evidence in the case because of the lapse of eight years, whatever material it could gather was not sufficient enough to prosecute those against whom allegations of hatching the conspiracy had been levelled.
The apex court had ordered an inquiry into Zakia’s complaint by SIT headed by former CBI director RK Raghavan. The SIT had submitted its report to the Supreme Court after investigations into the complaint. The Supreme Court, after going through the report, had asked amicus curiae Raju Ramchandran to independently verify the SIT investigations. Ramchandran had also submitted his report to the Supreme court. After going through both the reports, the Supreme Court had in September 2011 directed the SIT to submit the final report along with the entire material collected during the investigation to the metropolitan court. SIT had interrogated several people, including Modi in 2010.
Zakia’s husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 68 killed in the Gulbarga society massacre during the post-Godhra riots. Zakia had filed a protest petition in April this year objecting to the SIT’s closure report absolving Modi of complicity in the conspiracy behind the carnage. Zakia had filed a complaint against 63 persons, including Modi, his ministerial colleagues, top police officers and BJP functionaries accusing them of a wider conspiracy in the riots which left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.
After completing its investigation on Zakia’s complaint, the SIT had filed its closure report last year in February. SIT concluded that despite difficulties in obtaining evidence in the case because of the lapse of eight years, whatever material it could gather was not sufficient enough to prosecute those against whom allegations of hatching the conspiracy had been levelled.
The apex court had ordered an inquiry into Zakia’s complaint by SIT headed by former CBI director RK Raghavan. The SIT had submitted its report to the Supreme Court after investigations into the complaint. The Supreme Court, after going through the report, had asked amicus curiae Raju Ramchandran to independently verify the SIT investigations. Ramchandran had also submitted his report to the Supreme court. After going through both the reports, the Supreme Court had in September 2011 directed the SIT to submit the final report along with the entire material collected during the investigation to the metropolitan court. SIT had interrogated several people, including Modi in 2010.
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