God is great

The Supreme Court on Monday refrained from passing any order on a petition seeking Narendra Modi’s prosecution for the 2002 riots, while asking the trial court to decide on the case on the basis of the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will be submitted after taking into account the report of the amicus curiae which differed with the SIT on some of its findings. The apex court’s procedural rectitude was immediately seized by the BJP to over-pitch the court’s directive as a “clean chit” to Modi. Even so, the order does come as setback to the petitioner, widow of slain Congress MP Ahesan Jafri, Zakia Nasim Ahesan (popularly known as Zakia Jafri), and activists in her support, who had wanted the case to be heard and determined by the Supreme Court. An apex court bench of Justices D K Jain, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam on Monday directed the SIT to place the findings of its probe into the riots, including Modi’s alleged complicity, before the trial court. In its two reports to the SC, the SIT has maintained that it has not found “prosecutable evidence” against Modi. Significantly, the SC also said that it won’t be monitoring the case as the SIT has completed its investigation. That’s another reason for the BJP to cheer. However, the celebrations may be premature, notwithstanding the two SIT reports, as the apex court said that it was for the trial court to take the final call on whether Modi needs to be prosecuted, and that too only after giving a proper hearing to Zakia Jafri. Responding to the petition of the widow – whose husband was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre in Ahmedabad, which came to symbolize the barbarity of rioters and alleged police inaction – the bench said: “We deem it necessary to emphasize that if for any stated reason the SIT opines in its report, to be submitted in terms of this order, that there is no sufficient evidence or reasonable grounds for proceeding against any person named in the complaint (of Zakia) dated June 8, 2006, before taking a final decision on such ‘closure’ report, the court shall issue notice to the complainant and make available to her copies of the statements of the witnesses, other related documents and the investigation report strictly in accordance with the law.” Zakia Jafri has accused Modi and 62 other politicians, bureaucrats and cops of abetting the riots between February 27 and May 10, 2002, by their inaction. Apart from finding no prosecutable evidence against Modi, the SIT had also trashed IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s claim that he was present during the crucial meeting at the CM’s residence on February 27, 2002, when the CM allegedly asked the police to go slow against the rioters. During its two-and-a-half-year probe, the SIT had filed several chargesheets in riot cases, including one against former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and three others in the Naroda Gam case on May 1, 2009. On April 27, 2009, SC handed over investigation into Zakia Jafri’s complaint to the SIT. The complaint gave details of how systematically the communal riot was allowed to go on in the state with the CM, cabinet ministers, police and bureaucracy abdicating their constitutional duty to protect the life and property of citizens. Narendra Modi tweeted : God is great.