Guj HC defers verdict on Zakia's plea challenging clean chit to Modi in 2002 riots

Ahmedabad, Sep 8: The Gujarat High Court today again deferred the pronouncement of its order on a petition filed by slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri’s widow Zakia Jafri, challenging a lower court order which gives 'clean chit' to the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi (now Prime Minister) in the 2002 riots that broke out after the burning of a coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhara railway station. A single-judge bench of Justice Sonia Gokani fixed September 26 as next date when the judgement was likely to be pronounced. Justice Gokani today heard from all the sides concerned, the SIT report, clean chit and the complainant. She asked how this matter can be differentiated from the Gulbarg society massacre case to which Zakia's counsel Mihir Desai said the two matters should not be compared. SIT counsel on the other hand reiterated his earlier stand that the SIT investigation was under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Court and challenging its report was not proper. Earlier the court had almost completed the hearing on Zakia's plea in June this year. After that owing to various technical reasons the pronouncement of judgement had been deferred a couple of times. UNI