The special trial court conducting trial in Naroda Gaam riots case of 2002 riots, has asked former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani to get BJP president Amit Shah testify in her favour as defence witness by next Tuesday.
Dr Kodnani, who was convicted in the Naroda Patiya massacre case in which 97 persons belonging to the minority community were killed, is a key accused in Naroda Gaam massacre case involving brutal murders of 11 persons.
During the hearing, she urged the court to allow her to bring Mr Shah and 13 others as her witnesses to testify that she was not present at the site when the massacre was carried out.
Mr Shah is the last listed defence witness in her trial; all others have been cross-examined by the court.
The court said there will be no further adjournment of the case and this was the last opportunity given to her.
A key accused in the case Dr Kodnani has asked the court for more time to find Shah’s address so as to ask him to depose in her defence.
In her application on Friday, she said that since Mr. Shah is not “reachable” due to his busy schedule and mobility, “it is difficult to decide as to which address the summons be served to him.”
She had sought time till September 12, 2017 while Special judge P B Desai had granted her time till September 8 for her to bring Mr Shah to testify as Defence witness.
Earlier, Dr Kodnani had sought examination of 14 people, including Mr. Shah, to prove her alibi that on February 28, 2002, the day riots broke out in Naroda Gam, she was not at the scene of the crime.
Among those 14 she listed as witnesses, 12 including her husband have already testified in her favour.