The Gujarat High Court on Monday adjourned to August 4 the final hearing of Zakia Jafri’s appeal against a lower court order upholding the clean chit given by Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others for their alleged roles in 2002 riots.
Justice Sonia Gokani adjourned the hearing after Ms. Jafri’s lawyer S.M. Tirmizi sought more time to study case material.
The appeal has been filed by activist >Teesta Setalvad and Ms. Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed during the post-Godhra riots of 2002.
The apex court asked the SIT to probe the complaint. The SIT submitted a report to the Supreme Court, and the court asked amicus curie Raju Ramchandran to verify it. Mr. Ramchandran also submitted a report to the Supreme Court.
On September 12, 2011, the Supreme Court directed the SIT to submit its final report, along with the entire evidence material collected, to the local magistrate’s court.
Subsequently, the magistrate’s court in Ahmedabad, revealing the contents of the report, said that the SIT had given a clean chit to Mr. Modi and others. Ms. Setalvad and Ms. Jafri then filed a protest petition, but magistrate B.J. Ganatra rejected it.
