Gujarat HC adjourns final hearing on Zakia's appeal to Aug 4

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court today 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 to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others for their alleged roles in 2002 riots.

Justice Sonia Gokani adjourned the hearing after Jafri's lawyer S M Tirmizi sought more time to study case material.

The appeal has been filed by activist Teesta Setalvad and Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the post-Gohdra riots of 2002.

Setalvad and Jafri had filed a complaint against Modi (who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister) and 62 others, including some then ministers, top police officials and BJP leaders for being party to a wider conspiracy regarding the riots in the Supreme Court.

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. 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 here, revealing the contents of the report, said that the SIT had given a clean chit to Modi and others. Setalvad and Jafri then filed a protest petition, but magistrate B J Ganatra rejected it.