Naroda Patiya case: SC stays proceedings in Gujarat High Court for two months

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed proceedings in the Gujarat High Court on appeals filed by the convicts in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case in which former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani was awarded life sentence for two months.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices M B Lokur and M Y Iqbal said, there will be interim stay on proceedings in the Gujarat High Court on the appeals for two months.

The apex court-appointed Special Investigating Team, which probed the riot cases, had complained that the high court has been expeditiously hearing only Kodnani's appeal, when appeals of her co-convicts remained pending.

A special trial court had on August 30, 2012 awarded life imprisonment to Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 29 others for killings and hatching a criminal conspiracy.

The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on February 28, 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

About 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organized by the Bajrang Dal, a militant wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in Gujarat at that time.

The massacre at Naroda occurred during the protest called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad; a day after the burning of a train in which Hindu pilgrims were travelling.

During the post-Godhra rioting, which lasted over ten hours, mobs looted, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups.

After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and army troops were called in to contain further violence.

The communal violence at Naroda has been described as "the largest single case of mass murder" during the 2002 Gujarat riots; it accounted for the greatest number of deaths during a single event.

Survivors faced socio-economic problems; many were left homeless, orphaned and injured.

A number of shrines were destroyed and many schools were adversely affected, cancelled exams or closed entirely. The surviving victims were given shelter in relief camps provided by both the state and central government, and efforts were begun to restore destroyed properties and shrines.