SC breather for Modi in Gujarat riots case

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 riots to give its final report before a trial court.

The apex court was acting on the plea of petitioner Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former MLA Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots in Gulberg society in Ahmedabad. The court had appointed a Special Investigation Team to probe Modi’s role in the riots.

His wife, Zakia, and others, had said that Jafri had tried to contact several influential persons, including Modi to stop the riots. The lawyers had argued that a case must be registered to investigate Modi’s role in the riots, as alleged by Jafri.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard Jafri’s widow and directed a Gujarat trial court to examine the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the court counsel’s review of that report. Zakia said there were differences between the SIT report and that of the counsel, on the role played by the chief minister.

If the Supreme Court’s order had been different, a criminal case would have been registered against the CM. The Supreme Court will now stop monitoring the case and both the reports will be sent to the trial court. The apex court will, however, continue monitoring the nine other Gujarat-riots cases. Although the trial court’s verdict is awaited, it is a moot point whether it will agree, as Zakia has alleged, that Modi and 61 others, including politicians, policemen and bureaucrats, colluded to ensure that those being attacked by mobs during the riots did not receive help.

Reacting to the SC order, Modi tweeted “God is great”. Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas and Minister of State for Energy Saurabh Patel, designated spokespersons of the Gujarat government, said the state government had followed all required legal processes and the current round of litigation was inspired by “certain vested interests with ulterior political motives, who from the beginning were not interested in seeing that justice was done”.

The statement said: “The highest court of the land has accepted the report of the SIT consisting of high ranking officers who had worked in the CBI and have carried out a thorough investigation into the seemingly false, fabricated and whimsical allegations made in the complaint. Certain vested interests in order to destabilise the Gujarat government tried to ensure that an FIR be filed against the chief minister and other government officials. However, the Supreme Court has not permitted this.”

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said: “Narendrabhai has passed Agnipareeksha on Monday. My heartiest congratulations to him.”

But Zakia and her lawyers believe there was also some truth in the report filed by the amicus curie, Raju Ramachandran, who was asked to inquire into the SIT’s report.

Abhishek Singhvi, Congress spokesperson, said the Supreme Court had asked a magistrate in the trial court to go over the matter again in a set of very detailed directions. It was certainly not a victory for any of the actors yet. “It is justice delayed. But not justice denied.”