New Delhi, Sept 25: The Supreme Court today ordered listing of a host of PILs seeking independent inquiry into the Godhra incident and subsequent riots in Gujarat along with a petition filed by NHRC for transfer of riot cases outside the state. A bench headed by Justice S Rajendra Babu directed that petitioners--danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, noted Bengali litterateur Maheshweta Devi and ad guru Aleque Padamsee--to move a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India which is hearing the NHRC petition alleging miscarriage of justice and transfer of trial of four riot cases outside the state.
Chastised by the supreme court to observe "Raj Dharma", the Gujarat government on September 19 admitted before it that witnesses in the Best Bakery case trial could have been "coerced or won over" to turn hostile leading to acquittal of all the accused but pledged to do "everything possible" to bring the guilty to book.
Shaken by the apex court's severe criticism of the manner in which the state had filed the appeal before the High Court, Gujarat government through Additional Solicitor General Mukul Rohtagi had said it would amend its appeal challenging the acquittal of the accused, seek retrial of the case and a direction for further probe into the case to collect more evidence.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice Brijesh Kumar and Justice S B Sinha had heard the NHRC petition. Bureau Report