HC adjourns hearing on Zakia`s plea against clean chit to Modi

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of the slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging a lower court`s order upholding SIT`s clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots.

Justice S G Shah posted the hearing to April 28 after asking the petitioner to provide the translation of the voluminous documents she has submitted. The government lawyer assured that it would assist the court in delivering justice. "The case is like any other matter. The state will assist the court to deliver justice," Government Pleader Prakash Jani said. Advocate C S Vaidyanathan, the lawyer of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team, sought translation of documents, and alleged that "the purpose (of the petition) is not to address this court, but to address some other audience". On December 26 last year, Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate B J Ganatra rejected Jafri`s protest petition challenging the SIT`s clean chit to Modi. Zakri`s petition demands that Modi, who is now BJP`s Prime Ministerial candidate, and 59 others be tried for criminal conspiracy and other offences in connection with the 2002 riots. The petition has alleged that some vital records were destroyed by the state government. On February 28, 2002, following the Godhra train carnage, 68 people including Ehsan Jafri were killed by a mob at the Gulbarg Society here. On February 8, 2012, the SIT filed a closure report on the complaint filed by Zakia Jafri. The report gave a clean chit to Modi and others.