The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till January the hearing on a plea by Zakia Ahsan Jafri challenging clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for their alleged inaction in the 2002 post-Godhra riots including an attack on Gulberg society.
Zakia Jafri -- widow of Congress leader and former member of Parliament Ahsan Jafri -- has challenged the Gujarat High Court order upholding clean chit to Modi and others by SIT.
The bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Hemant Gupta directed the posting of the matter to the third week of January as senior counsel Kapil Sibal appearing for Jafri told the court that they wanted to file some additional documents and needed time.
The SIT, on November 19, while raising preliminary objection to the Zakia Jafri's plea had opposed it, saying "it is an issue of facts and for how long it can go on".
The court was also told that there were concurrent findings of the magistrate court and the high court as well rejecting Zakia Jafri's plea.
Jafri has challenged the October 5, 2017 order of the Gujarat High Court upholding the magistrate court order rejecting Jafri's protest petition challenging the SIT report giving clean chit to top political leaders and state functionaries for the alleged larger conspiracy.
The SIT was set up by the top court, and it had come to the conclusion that no case was made out and the same was accepted by the Magistrate and the finding was "erroneously" reiterated by the high court, says the petition by Jafri.
The petition has further said that the high court refused to interfere with the Magistrate court order "despite large amount of documentation and contemporaneous evidence that existed which made out a triable case against all the accused".
The petition by Jafri says that she had levelled allegations against various bureaucrats, police officers and political leaders for alleged "conspiracy, abetment and hate speech" culminating in 2002 violence.
Petitioner Jafri has referred to the burning of the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002, resulting in the death of 59 kar sevaks at Godhra railway station.
She said this was "presumed to be a communal attack against the Hindus and this culminated into a reprisal against the Muslim community leading to orchestrated violence and targeted killings".
Jafri's petition says: "As contemporaneous official data began to be released, including the intelligence collected by the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), it transpired that the SIB had information about systematic movements of kar sevaks and accumulation of arms, which was ignored and facilitated by inaction."
Braving the scorching heat, Tripura East records over 80 pc turnout
Despite the scorching heat, over 80 per cent of the 14 lakh voters cast their votes in the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency where polling was held under a heavy security cover on Friday.
NCPCR initiates action against Mehbooba Mufti for 'using school children for election campaign'
In a significant development, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Friday took cognisance of a report on 'X' accusing PDP President and Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat candidate Mehbooba Mufti of using school children for campaigning in the election.
PM Modi takes opposition to cleaners on EVMs, once again
Calling it a "historic day", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss a batch of petitions seeking mandatory cross-verification of the votes cast in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.
LS Poll: Over 1000 villagers did not cast vote; shows protest against bad road condition, improper drinking water facility
Over 1000 villagers of Maldapara of Gandacherra subdivision in Dhalai Tripura district on Friday boycotted the second phase of polling to East Tripura constituency and refrained from casting their vote as part of their agitation against bad condition of road in their village.
PM Modi roasts Cong, says former PM's video on 'priority for Muslims' demolishes its canards
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stepped up his offensive on the Congress and said that his plainspeak on the party’s double standards has ruffled many feathers in the INDIA bloc, so much so, that they have launched a tirade at him for speaking the truth.
CBI recovers huge cache of arms, explosives from house of Shahjahan’s relative at Sandeshkhali
The CBI on Friday afternoon conducted a raid at the residence of a relative of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas District and seized a huge cache of firearms and explosives.
Tripura records 54.47% turnout recorded till 1 PM in 2nd phase polling to East
The second phase of polling for the East Tripura Parliamentary constituency is underway amid tight security coverage, while 54.47% voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm on Friday. Voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. Tripura recorded the highest turnout at 36.42 per cent till 11 am.
DMs, SPs of violence-hit MP districts transferred
The farmers agitation entered its eighth day on Thursday. The peasants have been on strike since June 1, demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce.