The Gujarat government has denied permission to the Supreme Court- appointed Special Investigation Team to challenge the grant of bail to Maya Kodnani, former minister accused in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case.
>The Gujarat High Court had granted bail to Ms. Kodnani in July on the grounds of her ill health.
“We took the decision 20 days ago and conveyed it to the SIT. We decided not to grant permission to the SIT to file an appeal according to the merits of the case, and the facts and circumstance surrounding it. We felt the HC judgment was proper. We have also cited from a Supreme Court judgment to support our decision,” Law and Justice Secretary V P Patel told The Hindu on the phone.
The SIT had sought the opinion of Prashant Desai, Special Public Prosecutor, about going in appeal against the High Court’ bail order.
“I gave my opinion that the chances of success were low and moreover her health is very bad. The SIT was then required to seek permission from the government,” Mr. Desai told The Hindu.
The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on February 28, 2002, as part of the overall riots in Gujarat in the aftermath of the Sabarmati Express train burning incident. Over 90 people were killed and several people were injured in the incident. A special investigation team (SIT) court had convicted and sentenced Ms. Kodnani to 28 years imprisonment in August 2012.
