Ahmedabad, Dec 17: The amended appeal challenging the acquittal of 21 accused in the Best Bakery carnage and seeking retrial in the case today came up for hearing before a division bench of Gujarat High Court. However, Justice A L Dave of the division bench passed an oral order of "not before me", meaning that the hearing on the appeal cannot be conducted before this bench.
The matter has now been sent to chief justice, who will pass "appropriate orders" for transferring the case to another division bench.
Earlier, on December 01 of the high court had fixed December 17 as the next date after several defence lawyers appearing for the accused submitted that they had not received the "paper book" prepared by the prosecution.
Defence lawyers had pleaded three weeks time to obtain and study the paper book even as advocate general S N Shelat, appearing for the government said he had no objection to them being granted time.
On June 27, a fast-track court in Vadodara had acquitted 21 persons accused for burning to death 12 persons in the best bakery during post-Godhra communal riots on March 1 last year.
Chastised by Supreme Court's severe indictment for filing an "eyewash of an appeal" challenging the acquittal, Gujarat government had filed an amended appeal on September 29. Bureau Report