Gulberg case: HC orders preparation of 'paper book' to expedite appeals

To expedite the hearing of appeals in the 2002 Gulberg society massacre case, the Gujarat High Court Thursday directed the court registry to prepare 'paper book' of documents within four weeks.

A division bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice A C Rao passed the direction after learning that some of the convicts have served more time in prison than the duration of their sentence.

The 'paper book' contains all the orders of lower courts, list of dates, grounds of appeal, annexures, affidavits and various other material needed to start the hearing.

In June 2016, a special SIT court here convicted 24 accused and acquitted 36 others in the Gulberg massacre case, one of the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.

Ehsan Jafri, a Congress leader, was among 68 people who were killed at the Gulberg Society here when a mob attacked it on February 28, 2002.

The SIT court sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment. One accused was awarded a 10-year jail term, while the remaining 12 were sentenced to seven years in jail.

The convicts have filed appeals in the high court.

Some of the surviving victims have filed appeals against the acquittal of some of the accused, and sought enhancement of sentences of some of the convicts.

Hearing an interim bail plea of one of the convicts two days ago, the court noticed that this convict and some others, awarded less than 10 years of imprisonment, had spent more time in jail than the duration of their sentence.

When the appeals came up for hearing Thursday, the bench directed the registry to finish the task of preparing the paper book and list the matter for hearing within four weeks.