Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, maintained in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the focus of her efforts was not to implicate the then Gujarat Chief Minister but to highlight the probe conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into her allegation of a “larger conspiracy” behind the violence.
Ms. Jafri, the wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the violence at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, has challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ms. Jafri, told a three-judge Bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar that they have not argued at all about any alleged involvement of the former Chief Minister and they are on the issue of larger conspiracy which was not probed by the SIT.
“I have nothing more as far as the ex-Chief Minister is concerned. I don’t want to argue it and I have never argued it...” Mr. Sibal submitted.
“At no stage did I try and implicate the ex-Chief Minister nor did I argue it. I am not arguing it even now,” he said.
The Bench responded that the allegation regarding involvement of those at the highest level was investigated by the SIT. The team had formed an opinion based on the materials collected during the probe. It had filed its report in the court concerned.
The SIT had filed a closure report in February 2012. It had found “no prosecutable evidence” against the 64 persons. A ‘protest petition’ filed by Ms. Jafri against the clean chit was dismissed by the Magistrate. The Gujarat High Court too, in October 2017, refused to entertain Ms. Jafri, who had moved the apex court.
