The apex court on Monday adjourned till January third week Zakia Jafri’s petition challenging the acquittal of Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat, in the 2002 Godhra riots case
Despite opposition by Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, the Supreme Court has decided to hear a plea regarding 22 alleged fake encounters that took place in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.
Talking to the National Herald, human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi said: “I and Javed Akhtar had filed an application in the Supreme Court through advocate Prashant Bhushan in April and demanded a copy of Justice HS Bedi report.”
The committee headed by Justice Bedi–who had replaced Justice MB Shah– to probe alleged fake encounters, which took place in Gujarat between 2002 and 2007 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister, was appointed in 2012. The committee submitted its report to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover in March this year.
The committee had look into whether the encounters that included the Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh cases, showed a pattern that people from the minority community were targeted as terrorists.
Pertinently, a writ petition was filed by poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar, late journalist BG Verghese and activist Shabnam Hashmi in 2007, seeking a direction for a probe by an independent agency or CBI so that the “truth may come out”. The pleas had claimed that innocent people, particularly from Muslim community, were being targeted as terrorists in Gujarat between 2002 and 2007.
On Monday, when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta intervened, arguing that the Justice Bedi report on the fake encounters must not be made public, the court asked him to file an affidavit.
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi also refused to accede to Mehta’s request that the matter should be posted following the Christmas break of the Supreme Court, and listed the matter for December 12.
Meanwhile, the plea filed by Zakia Jafri challenging SIT findings giving clean-chit to Narendra Modi, who was Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2002 Gujarat riots, was adjourned by the apex court on Monday.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Hemant Gupta have posted the matter for hearing in the third week of January next year.
Zakia’s husband and Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed by a mob which attacked the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002 during riots.
The court had previously said that it will also look into the application by social activist Teesta Setalvad on becoming a co-petitioner in Zakia’s plea ahead of hearing the main case.
During the previous hearing, senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the SIT had said that Zakia’s plea was not maintainable and had also raised objections to Setalvad becoming the second petitioner in the case.
He had said that the appeal does not have a single supporting affidavit filed by Jafri and all affidavits filed are by Setalvad, who describes herself as a journalist.
Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for Zakia, had said that the main petitioner is 80-years-old and therefore, Setalvad has been made petitioner number two to assist her.
To this, the court had observed that one need not become a co-petitioner to assist the petitioner, and had said that it will look into the application on making Setalvad as the second petitioner.
Jafri’s counsel had said that 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 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 filed a closure report, giving clean chit to Modi and 63 others, including senior government officials, saying there was “no prosecutable evidence” against them.
Ehsan Jafri was among 68 people killed at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad when a mob attacked it on February 28, 2002, a day after the S-6 Coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering riots in Gujarat.
“The present Special Leave Petition is filed before this Court against the final judgement and order dated October 5, 2017 passed by the High Court of Gujarat…which erroneously upheld the order of the magistrate accepting the closure report filed by the Special Investigative Agency appointed by this Court concerning the violence in Gujarat in 2002,” Zakia, in her plea filed through advocate Aparna Bhat, had submitted. The plea had further said the high court “failed to appreciate” the petitioner’s complaint which was independent of the Gulberg case registered at Meghaninagar Police Station.
Zakia had sought an interim order to the SIT to carry out further investigation with regard to her complaint and the evidence provided by her before the magistrate through the protest petition.
The high court in its October 5, 2017 order had said the SIT probe was monitored by the Supreme Court but had partly allowed Zakia’s petition as far as its demand of a further investigation was concerned.
It had said that petitioner can approach an appropriate forum including the magistrate’s court, a division bench of the high court or the Supreme Court seeking further investigation.
source: NH
