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Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate, told the Supreme Court today that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by top court to investigate the Gujarat Riots case(s) were hand in glove with accused and State and did not not take statements of people in Tehelka tapes. A Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T.Ravikumar, however questioned Sibal telling him that this alone cannot be the basis for the motives and that the SIT may have some explanation to offer.

Sibal pointed out that the SIT did not take the statement of any members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which had in 2007 approached the Supreme Court stating that the Gujarat government was not handling the investigation. Sibal further argued that there was a major failure of intelligence and the State Government was not ready to answer to this. 

Sibal submitted that despite these evidences having been available in 2002, the SIT did not take them into consideration for reasons best known to them.  He further argued that people were arrested and bailed out immediately as the Public Prosecutor (PP) appearing for the government did not oppose their bails. He further submitted that these PPs were also exposed in the Tehelka tapes.

It was argued that the SIT took statements of witnesses, accepted them and closed the matter. Sibal argued that there was a pattern wherein FIRs were lodged by the perpetrators themselves without naming the offender and that if the actual victim comes forward with the complaint, the police would already have an FIR against the offender and refuse to take the victim’s complaint, thereby proving that there was a larger conspiracy.

Sibal said,

”These are matters that should neither be forgiven nor be forgotten. These happened in 2002, we are now in 2021. We don’t know if the offenders were given but they are certainly forgotten.” Sibal further read the statement by Justice Akbar Divecha, a retired judge of Gujarat High Court, on him witnessing the riots and informed the court that despite Justice Divecha being a retired judge of the High Court, he was not provided any security.

He told the court that he was showing these materials to court to demonstrate that these materials were available as early as 2002, despite SIT having been appointed in 2008 they have not acted on it. It was was further argued that the intent of this exercise is to demonstrate to the court that the material was already a part of the record but the SIT did not investigate it.

Sibal further read out the statement of Amarsinh Chaudhari, the former Chief Minister of Gujarat. According to the statement read in the court, Chaudhari requested the Commissioner of Police to despatch help to Eshan Jafri as her received frantic calls from him as early as 10.30 in the morning, however no help was sent to him.

It was further argued that after the riots, the Election Commission went to Gujarat to assess the situation as the then State Government wanted to conduct elections and made some observations in this regard, however the SIT failed to investigate the observations made by them as well.  He further informed the court that the SIT ignored a report filed by the Committee on Empowerment of Women that was laid down before Rajys Sabha in 2002.

Sibal argued that it was assumed that the larger conspiracy case pertains only to Gulbarg Society and not other cases, however a lot of evidence was not looked into. Sibal submitted that Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and other organisations were involved in the conspiracy. Sibal said “What happened was not a case of individual offences, it was a communal upsurge that was not effectively prevented by the State Machinery. The upsurge was not investigated into and the in turn resulted in an ineffective trial.”

He argued that Tehelka sting operation tapes were available as early as 2007 and the investigating agency did not check its veracity. Sibal said “If the course of justice is to ensure that the guilty are prosecuted and the innocent are protected, surely this needs to be looked into. The ultimate victim here is justice, this is the failure of the system.”

Sibal after reading the transcript of the Tehelka tapes brought the court’s attention to the fact that weapons were obtained from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab to riot in Gujarat and that this is a larger conspiracy.

The bench at this point told Sibal that he had made his point that these were not looked into by the SIT and that the SIT must be given an opportunity to be heard now. Sibal requested the court’s indulgence just to read the transcripts of Arvind Pandey, who was during the time of the trial a  Special Public Prosecutor of the Gujarat Government. The court permitted him to take them through the same.

After taking the court through the tape, Sibal argued that the CBI had validated these tapes and he will show the same to the court tomorrow.

Background:

Ehsan Jafri was killed on February 28, 2002, and was one among the 68 people killed at Gulberg Society Ahmedabad, which was immediately after the day on which Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, thereby instigating Gujarat Riots 2002 and killing 59 people on board.

The SIT in its closure report gave a clean chit to the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi stating that no prosecutable evidence was found, along with 63 others including Government officers.The plea has alleged that there is a larger conspiracy behind the incident.On the earlier occasions, the Court had said that the matter needs to be heard at some stage it is being adjourned for very long at the behest of the petitioner.

 

Case Title: Zakia Ahsan Jafri and Anr. Vs. The State of Gujarat and Anr.