Guj riot: SC to hear evidence fabrication case after vacation

The Supreme Court today decided to hear after summer vacation the plea of estranged former aide of social activist Teesta Setalvad seeking lifting of the stay on the investigation into a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in a 2002 post-Godhra riot incident.
Rais Khan Pathan has sought vacation of apex court's September 2, 2011 order by which probe against him and Setalvad was stayed for allegedly fabricating evidence in the Naroda Gam case in which 11 people were killed.
Setalvad, who is heading the NGO, Citizen for Justice and Peace (CJP), had challenged the July 11, 2011 decision of the Gujarat High Court giving green signal for probe against them.

Pathan, who worked as field coordinator with CJP before parting ways with Setalvad, submitted that if the probe was not allowed to progress, there was possibility of destruction of evidence related to the case. Undue influence, inducement and threat to witnesses cannot be ruled out, he had said.
A bench comprising Justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph said the pleas of both, Setalvad and Pathan, will be taken together after the reopening of the court after the vacation.
However, during the brief hearing, advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for Setalvad, objected to averments made in Pathan's application which was filed when the matter was heard by Justice Aftab Alam, who has since retired.

Pathan had contended there was "a reasonable likelihood of bias" in hearing the matter by Justice Alam as he had delivered a lecture in London on 'Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Program' (PPKP) with which his daughter is associated. Further, he had said that his daughter is part of some NGOs working for the riot victims in Gujarat.
After the bench expressed reservation on the contents in the application, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani agreed to withdraw them. "We will withraw it but read it sometime," he added.
Jethmalani said Pathan's another application for recusal of Justice Alam from hearing the case has become infructuous. The identical grounds were also raised in that application.