A division bench of Gujarat High Court on Tuesday concluded the hearing on a set of appeal petitions in 2002 Ode massacre case and reserved its verdict. (File)
A division bench of Gujarat High Court on Tuesday concluded the hearing on a set of appeal petitions in 2002 Ode massacre case and reserved its verdict. A special trial court in 2012 had held 23 accused guilty and out of them 18 were convicted for life imprisonment while the remaining five had been sentenced for seven years. The division bench, led by Justice Akil Kureshi, concluded the hearing and reserved the judgment.
Following the lower court’s decision, the convicts moved the High Court challenging the judgment. The SIT also moved the court, challenging the acquittals in the case and enhancing of sentences of five convicts who got seven years in jail for murder. The SIT also sought capital punishment for all the accused found guilty of murder.
On March 1, 2002, two days after the Godhra train carnage, 23 Muslims were burnt alive in the Ode massacre in Anand district of central Gujarat. It is one of the nine major riots cases which were handed over to the Supreme Court appointed-SIT. The SIT court in 2012 held 23 out of 47 guilty while one of the accused had died during the pendency.