Ahmedabad: The judge, who is hearing the Naroda Gaam riot case of 2002, on Friday rejected an application seeking that she should recuse herself from the trial.
Designated Judge Jyotsna Yagnik, who had earlier presided over the Naroda Patiya massacre trial, today rejected the application of former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and others.
Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and Kishan Korani, accused in the present case along with 79 others, had said Yagnik should not preside over Naroda Gaam case because she had convicted them in the Naroda Patiya case and they would not get a fair trial as "preconceived disposition" would come into play.
Yagnik had sentenced Kodnani and others to life imprisonment in Naroda Patiya case. On November 30, 2011, the Chief Justice of Gujarat High appointed her as a judge for Naroda Gaam case.
During post-Godhra riots of 2002, 11 people of the minority community were killed in Naroda Gaam area here. The Supreme Court had in 2008 appointed Special Investigation Team to probe it.
PTI
