Guj HC likely to pronounce order on Zakia's plea on Sep 26

The Gujarat High Court is likely to pronounce on September 26 its order on a petition filed by slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri's widow Zakia challenging a lower court order upholding a clean chit given to then chief minister Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 riots cases.
Justice Sonia Gokani today said the order would now be pronounced on September 26, after the lawyers of Jafri and the special investigation team (SIT) informed the HC that copies of all orders passed by the Supreme Court on the 2002 communal riot cases had been submitted to the designated trial court.

Earlier on August 21, the court had sought to know from the SIT if papers related to further investigation carried out into a larger criminal conspiracy in the riot cases, as ordered by the Supreme Court, were submitted before the designated court hearing them.
The high court also wanted to know if the SIT had placed the documents related to further investigation before the court hearing the 2002 Gulberg massacre case, one of the 2002 riots cases in which Ehsan Jafri, a former MP, and 68 others were burnt alive by a mob.
The SIT today informed the high court that along with the apex court's orders, reports relating to further investigation, SC order on former IPS Sanjeev Bhat's plea, material evidences and reports of amicus curiae had already been submitted to the designated court.

As directed by Justice Gokani, all the documents and orders were also submitted before the high court today during the final hearing.

The massacre had taken place at the Gulberg housing society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002.
A special SIT court had last year convicted 24 people in the Gulberg case, but had ruled out a larger conspiracy behind the killings.
On February 8, 2012 the SIT had filed a closure report in the special court, giving a clean chit to Modi and others in the case.
In December 2013, a metropolitan court had rejected Zakia Jafri's plea to book Modi and others for criminal conspiracy after which she moved the high court in 2014.

Apart from political leaders, Jafri's complaint also named bureaucrats, police and private individuals.