Gujarat Riots: SC To Hear Plea Against Clean Chit To Modi In April

The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted the plea of Zakia Jafri, widow of late Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots, for hearing on April 13.

A bench, headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, adjourned the matter for April 13, saying there will be no adjournment on that date.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Jafri, asked the Bench to post the matter for hearing in April. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

The SIT appointed by the apex court had conducted the investigation into the case and gave a clean chit to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, other top politicians and bureaucrats. The clean chit was given citing lack of "prosecutable evidence" against them.

Challenging the Gujarat High Court's order dated October 5, 2017, that upheld SIT's clean chit, Zakia approached the Supreme Court alleging a "larger conspiracy" in the riots.

The Gujarat High Court had upheld the magisterial court's order, accepting the SIT's closure report.

In her petition to the Supreme Court, Zakia has stated, "Grant ad-interim order to the SIT to carry out further investigation under section 173(8) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in regard to the petitioner's complaint dated June 8, 2006 and the evidence placed before the learned through the protest petition dated April 15, 2013." (ANI)