On Thursday, a special court will issue its ruling in the matter of the 2002 Naroda Gam communal incident, in which 11 members of the Muslim community were slain.
Maya Kodnani, a former minister from Gujarat and a BJP politician, and Babu Bajrangi, a leader of the Bajrang Dal, are two of the 86 defendants who are implicated in the case. 18 of the 86 accused were killed in the interim.
The decision against 68 accused is expected to be announced on April 20 by the court of S K Baxi, special judge for Special Investigation Agency (SIT) cases.
On February 28, 2002, during a bandh declared to protest the Godhra train burning the day before, which claimed the lives of 58 passengers, predominantly Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, eleven people were murdered in acts of communal violence in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Gam neighborhood.
According to special prosecutor Suresh Shah, throughout the trial, which began in 2010 and lasted over 13 years with six judges presidening over the case, the prosecution and defense cross-examined 187 and 57 witnesses, respectively.
Amit Shah, a prominent BJP politician who is now the Union home minister, testified in Maya Kodnani’s defense in September 2017.
Kodnani had asked the court to call him in order to establish her alibi, according to which she was present in the Gujarat Legislature and then at the Sola Civil Hospital rather than at Naroda Gam, the scene of the slaughter.
The video of a sting operation conducted by journalist Ashish Khetan and the phone logs of Kodnani, Bajrangi, and others during the relevant time are two examples of the prosecution’s evidence.
S H Vora presided over the trial as it began. He received a promotion to Gujarat High Court. Jyotsna Yagnik, K K Bhatt, and P B Desai, his successors, all took retirements during the trial.
The next special judge, M K Dave, was moved, according to prosecutor Shah.
“The trial (witness depositions) came to an end around four years ago. As former special judge P. B. Desai departed, the defense was presenting its arguments and the prosecution had finished its case. The hearings were thus postponed while new arguments were made before Judge Dave and Judge Baxi.
The accused are accused of violating many Indian Criminal Code articles, including 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to kill), 143 (illegal assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with lethal weapons), and 153 (provocation for riots). The death penalty is the worst penalty for certain offences.
Kodnani, a minister in the Gujarat administration headed by Narendra Modi, was found guilty and given a 28-year prison term in connection with the slaughter of 97 persons at Naroda Patiya. The Gujarat High Court eventually released her from her obligations.
In this instance, she is also accused with rioting, murder, and attempted murder in addition to criminal conspiracy.
One of the nine significant communal rioting incidents from 2002 that the SIT looked into and had heard in special tribunals was the massacre at Naroda Gam.
