The Hindu : Gujarat given time to respond on transfer of post-Godhra cases

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Saturday, Apr 03, 2004

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Gujarat given time to respond on transfer of post-Godhra cases

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 2. The Supreme Court today asked the Gujarat Government to respond within two weeks to suggestions that the riot cases related to post-Godhra be transferred outside the State.

The court had already stayed trial in 11 such cases, which included incidents of killings at the Gulbarga Society, Naroda Patiya and Panchmahal district.

A three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice S.H. Kapadia, asked the Additional Solicitor-General, Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Gujarat to respond to the suggestions of the amicus curiae, Harish Salve, and posted the case for hearing to April 21.

Earlier, Mr. Salve submitted that the State Government had not even appealed against the orders of the High Court granting bail to the accused in cases of post-Godhra riots in which several people were killed.

Assisting the Court in the petition filed by the National Human Rights Commission seeking transfer of these cases, he said the public confidence in the judicial system had to be restored.

Mr. Salve said that there was no dearth of good police officers in the State and that a special investigation team, headed by a retired police officer, should be constituted to suggest what further action could be taken in the over 4000 riot cases that were registered after the burning of the Sabarmati Express.

He proposed that another committee headed by a retired Judge be put in place to examine the orders of trial courts pertaining to the riots.

The committee would then suggest to the State Government as to which orders could be appealed against.

Moreover, the Court should also go into the issue of grant of compensation to the riot victims as many of them had complained that even the meagre sum announced by the State Government had not reached them.

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