2002 Gujarat riots: SC adjourns Zakia Jafri's plea till November 26

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till November 26 hearing on appeal filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of slain ex-Congress MP Ahshan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi by apex court constituted SIT in 2002 post-Godhra communal riots.

Zakia, the wife of Ehsan Jafri, an ex-MP who was killed in one of the worst incidents during the riots, has challenged the Gujarat High Court's October 5, 2017, order rejecting her plea against the SIT's decision.

Earlier, a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta said the matter will be heard on November 19, as the court has not gone through the petition in detail.

During the brief hearing, senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for Jafri said notice needs to be issued in the plea as it pertains to the aspect of "larger conspiracy" during the period from February 27, 2002 and May 2002.

The Supreme Court bench also noted the office report's remarks that the plea should be tagged along with the pending criminal appeals in the case.

Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for Gujarat government, had opposed the suggestion and said that it is a separate case and should not be tagged along with the criminal appeals. The state government advocate also opposed issuing of a notice in the plea.

On February 8, 2012, the SIT had filed a closure report, giving a clean chit to the then chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and 63 others, including senior government officials, saying there was "no prosecutable evidence" against them.

Ehsan Jafri was among 68 people who were 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 returning from Ayodhya at Godhra was burned, triggering the 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," said the plea of Zakia filed through advocate Aparna Bhat.

Zakia 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 that 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.



Activist Teesta Setalvad, secretary of NGO - Citizen for Justice and Peace- is also a co-petitioner in the appeal seeking reversal of the Gujarat high court order.