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Gujarat Govt. moves HC in bakery case

By Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR Aug. 7. The Gujarat Government has filed an appeal in the High Court against the controversial Vadodara fast track court judgment in the Best Bakery communal riot case in which all the 21 accused were acquitted for "want of evidences".

The Government has also filed an appeal against a similar judgment in Lunawada case in which a Muslim was acquitted reportedly for lack of evidence.

Both the appeals filed by the Government pleader, Arun Oza, late this evening will now go to the High Court Registrar for registration and then to the Chief Justice, before a date for hearing for their admissions and subsequent trials are fixed.

In its appeal in the Best Bakery case, the Government said that the fast track court judge, H. U. Mahida, in acquitting all the 21 accused had not taken into account "certain law points" as well as the statements of some of the witnesses. It urged the High Court to try the case afresh.

According to the 20-page "appeal memo" filed by Mr. Oza, the fast track court judge erred in not taking into account "in proper perspective" the depositions made by the police officers who had recorded the statements of the accused and the witnesses or the signatories to the "panchanamas" recording evidences recovered from the scene of crime. The fast track court judge had mainly relied on some seven or eight witnesses in acquitting the accused.

As per the law, the entire depositions of even hostile witnesses could not be disposed of as was done by Mr. Mahida. The court had also erroneously regarded Rashid Khan's initial statement as the FIR though he did not appear before it and submitted his deposition.

The court should have taken Zahira Sheikh's statement as the FIR, because she had filed her complaint before Rashid Khan and had also appeared in the court, it pointed out.

In keeping with the rule to file an appeal within 60 days, the Government filed the appeal on the 43rd day today since the fast track court's judgment on June 27, to justify its criticism of the National Human Rights Commission that it should have waited for the Government's next move till the stipulated period was over.

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