2002 riots: SC seeks Gujarat govt’s view on Babu Bajrangi’s bail appeal

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Gujarat government’s views on a bail plea of Babu Bajrangi, who has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison in connection with the 2002 communal riots in the state.

His counsel, senior advocate V Shekhar, said Bajrangi was 80% blind, completely deaf and bedridden in a hospital.

A bench led by Justice Kurian Joseph issued notices on his plea, but not before adding: “The other side will claim that he was 100% blind.”


The prosecution in this case is the state of Gujarat. Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi was convicted over the killing of 97 people by rioting mobs in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Patiya area. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without remission. The Gujarat High Court in April upheld the conviction.

In the Supreme Court, Bajrangi also challenged the high court verdict, which had taken into account the “extra judicial confessions” made by him and two other convicts during a sting operation. In his plea Bajrangi claimed that the sting operation, conducted eight years after the riots, was “not even direct evidence” as per the Indian Evidence Act. He also said the case against him was “highly doubtful” as there were many contradictions in the depositions recorded in the court.