An important verdict is expected to be pronounced on Thursday on Zakia Jafri’s plea protesting closure report of Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), giving clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 post-Godhara riots. The case is being run in the court of metropolitan magistrate.
The pronouncement of order was earlier deferred twice on October 28 as well as on December 2 this year after arguments on petitioner’s lawyers and SIT’s counsels had continued for five months before a metropolitan magistrate court. Jafri’s lawyer handed over written submissions to the court on September 18 while SIT filed its written submissions on September 30.
Final judgment in the case is being eagerly awaited as it is directly related to Narendra Modi, who is also BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. On December 2, 2013 Metropolitan Magistrate BJ Ganatra came to the court for a brief period and informed the lawyers of both the sides that he would pronounce the order on Thursday, December 26.
Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre in Ahmedabad in 2002 riots which erupted following burning of Hindu Pilgrims in the train at Godhra Railway station. Apart from Jafri, 68 others were also killed in the Gulbarg Society incident. Ehsan Jafri’s widow Zakia filed a complaint naming Modi and others behind the infamous incident. In the case SIT was appointed to investigate the case which had given its final report in February this year and gave clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister.