Ahmedabad: Even as the Gujarat government is
trying to explore legal options for Chief Minister Narendra
Modi summoned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in
connection with 2002 riots, legal experts here believe that
the CM has very few options.
Modi has been summoned on March 21 by the Supreme Court-
appointed SIT in connection with a complaint of Zakia Jaffery,
wife of the late Congress MP Ehsan Jaffery, who was among the
69 killed by a mob at Gulburg society here, in the 2002 riots.
Zakia had alleged that Modi and 62 others had aided and
abetted the 2002 riots in the state that followed the Godhra
carnage on February 27, 2002.
Senior Advocate of Gujarat High Court S V Raju said, "If
the summons are issued by a competent public servant to any
person, then avoiding it could become an offence under the
Indian Penal Code," Raju said.
Another high court lawyer Shalin Mehta said, "First of
all, the summons have been issued by an agency constituted by
the Supreme Court and as such no court would go against SIT
which is investigating the case on SC's directions."
If the summons are to be challenged, Modi will have to
approach the apex court as the SIT is working directly under
the supervision of SC, Mehta added.
-PTI
First Published: Saturday, March 13, 2010, 00:04