The Gujarat government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the cases of convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case could not be considered for premature release under the policy of the Gujarat government since the convicts had been charged under provisions of TADA. The submission by the Gujarat government case while the Supreme Court was considering the bail applications of the convicts in the Godhra case.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, informed the top court bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala that the state will be pushing for the crime to be considered as rarest of rare, considering its severity.
“This is the case where 59 people were burnt alive. It is consistent that the bogey was locked from outside. The 59 people who died included ladies and children,” SG Mehta told the court and went on to detail the role played by four convicts to assert his claim.
“See the first convict who has challenged the sentence. He was identified in Test Identification Parade. He was pelting stones with motive of not letting passengers come out. The role of the second is also clear. In the third convict’s case, the distinction is that a deadly weapon was found on him. The fourth one- he played an active role in hatching the conspiracy. He purchased petrol, stored petrol, carried petrol and used the petrol for the purpose of burning…,” Live Law quoted him as saying.
On February 27, 2002, a fire inside the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express carrying kar sevaks from Ayodhya was set on fire, resulting in the death of 58 persons. The incident triggered large-scale communal riots in the state.
A total of 31 accused were convicted by the trial court in its verdict in March 2011 while 63 others were acquitted. Of the 31 convicts, 11 were handed the death penalty while 20 were awarded life imprisonment. In 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts to life terms while upholding imprisonment for life to the other 20.
The current plea for bail by the convicts has been pending before the top court since 2018. On Monday, the Supreme Court asked that the matter be listed for hearing next after three weeks. The top court has also asked for a detailed cart with all details of convicts before the hearing.