Guj HC to expedite hearing of 2002 Naroda Patiya case appeals

The Gujarat High Court today said it would expedite the hearing of appeals in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case.
The High Court registry today put an office note and a Supreme Court order of the last year before the division bench of Justice R R Tripathi and Justice R D Kothari.
The High Court will hear the appeals filed by the Special Investigation Team and the victims, seeking to enhance the punishment of 31 convicts. It will also expedite the hearing on the appeals filed by the convicts.
The Supreme Court in December last year had said, "We request the High Court to expedite the hearing of criminal appeal."

A survivor of Naroda Patiya massacre, Fareeda Khalifa, had approached the Supreme Court and sought cancellation of bail to former state minister Maya Kodnani, and pointed out that Gujarat High Court has suspended her conviction.
The apex court dismissed her petition but directed the High Court to expedite the hearings of appeals in the case.
The trial court, on August 30, 2012, awarded life imprisonment to Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 29 others for the 2002 riots here at Naroda Patiya where 97 people had been brutally killed.
The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002.