HC verdict likely today in Godhra train case

59 people were burnt to death in 2001

The burned S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station. File

More than two years after completion of hearing, the Gujarat High Court is likely to pronounce on Monday its verdict in the Godhra train burning case. Fifty-nine pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were charred to death when a Muslim mob attacked the train and torched the S6 coach near the Godhra railway station on February 26, 2001.

A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Dave and G.R. Udhwani had completed the hearing of various appeals filed by those convicted by the trial court and the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

31 guilty

In 2011, the trial court found 31 people guilty of the barbaric incident and awarded death sentence to 11 persons while the remaining 20 were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court, however, had acquitted 63 others including the mastermind of the attack Maulana Umarji.

The train burning incident had triggered communal riots in which more than 1,000 persons were massacred across the State.