SC refuses plea to reconstitute Gujarat riot SIT

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday declined to entertain a plea for reconstituting the Special Investigating Team after an existing team gave a clean chit to BJP star Narendra Modi for alleged deliberate inaction at the time of the Gulberg Society carnage Feb 28, 2002, during Gujarat riots.

The apex court bench of Justice HL Dattu and Justice SA Bobde, declining the plea by advocate Fatima A, observed that reconstituting the SIT over this issue was not good. Fatima, who appeared in person, took the court through her pleading and sought reconstitution of the SIT having three retired judges on it. Justice Dattu asked her three retired judges of which court - high court or supreme court. As Fatima said three retired judges of the supreme court, Justice Dattu said, "We don`t have" and the court declined the plea. However, the court allowed the advocate to withdraw her plea and dismissed it as withdrawn. In Gulberg Society carnage 37 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed. The rampaging mob targeted members of a particular community in the Ahmedabad neighbourhood which was set on fire Feb 28, 2002. The petition was filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the attack. She alleged deliberate inaction on the part of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 63 others, including his some cabinet colleagues and other higher officials, at the time of the Gulberg Society carnage.