The Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate’s one-line order rejecting Zakia Jafri’s protest petition without assigning reasons is surprising (Dec. 27). With Mr. Narendra Modi now in the national electoral fray, the onus is on the courts to decide the case immediately in view of the 2014 election. Its impact on his likely electoral win is crucial.
A.V. Narayanan,
Tiruchi
The verdict has disappointed crores of secular people in this country. Truth is sometimes elusive even in the judicial system which needs concrete evidence and witnesses to prove guilt. We must admire the spirit of Zakia Jafri and hope that she gets justice.
A. Abdul Razack,
Perundurai
Investigating agencies are capable of both the creation and obfuscation of evidence. The lack of evidence enunciated by the SIT does not absolve the agency of its responsibility of examining the crux of the problem and the real hand behind the terrible event in Gujarat. If the wife of a slain former parliamentarian is made to run from pillar to post in search of justice, the plight of ordinary citizens can be imagined.
Annadurai,
Srirangam
The issues that remain unresolved are: who provoked, who abetted the crimes, who perpetrated them and who executed these crimes in the open? As honest and secular citizens, 2002 left us all wounded.
V. Krishnamurthy,
Bangalore
The court’s rejection of the protest petition is certainly not the last word on the alleged complicity of the Modi administration in the 2002 pogrom. The SIT chief’s elation at the verdict is intriguing given the fact that the SIT ignored crucial evidence of police officers who worked in the State and its marked reluctance to get to the bottom of the role played by the State administration in the riots.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Srirangam
Of course, Mr. R.K. Raghavan may be satisfied. When all is said and done, it is not easy to erase the memory of the chilling incidents. One is reminded of the aphorism, “Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.” Persons who continue to slog for justice need to be appreciated. Let us hope that Ms. Jafri makes steady progress towards justice.
Gnana Surabhi Mani,
Madurai
The SIT has always maintained that there was no “prosecutable evidence” for filing a charge sheet. Among CBI directors, at least a lone retired one seems to be no caged parrot.
But the Congress will not give up. The Centre is setting up a judicial panel to probe “snoopgate” in its desperate and frantic attempt to fix Mr. Modi before 2014, which would only augment the BJP’s vote bank.
Col. C.V. Venugopalan (retd.),
Palakkad
It is obvious that the Congress is smarting and bent upon exacting revenge. Mr. Modi is already deriving endless mileage and any more attempts to malign him will only backfire. The Congress has to take a hard look at its electoral strategy rather than making it a one-point agenda of Modi-hunting
Jaya Varma R.K.,
Pandalam
Knowing Mr. Modi, he will not waste even a second to make political capital out of the verdict. He is bound to present this probe as the “Congress way of silencing its critics.”
On its part, and in its haste, the Congress has unwittingly armed Mr. Modi with more ammunition in the battle for power. With the great election round the corner, the grand old party needs to avoid negative tactics and instead talk of other issues involving good governance.
V. Rajagopalan,
Chennai
One can understand the pain Ms. Jafri feels. Maybe it’s her faith in the judicial system but she does not seem to realise that in any battle against the powerful, it is not easy to take them on. Not a single top leader has been sentenced in India for his/her hand in conducting riots. The Sri Krishna Commission on the Mumbai riots is an example.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad
I am not sure whether those who are aggrieved will be satisfied with all aspects of investigation, even if the matter is taken to the Supreme Court. Any investigation is likely to have one or two missing links, as it is based on available and admissible evidence and not on surmises and possibilities. There is also no cause for celebration or terming the finding a travesty of justice. Giving a political colour or communal overtones to this issue is fraught with the danger of precipitating a communal situation, especially with the general election fast approaching.
S.V. Venkatakrishnan,
Bangalore
In India, a lot of money and time is spent on probing the alleged corrupt/criminal deeds of politicians, thanks to political vendetta. Eventually, nothing is proved. It is time governments introspected on this matter.
S. Ramakrishnasayee,
Ranipet
