SC to hear appeals filed by Gujarat govt in Godhra case on Feb 13

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear on February 13 the appeals filed by the Gujarat government and several other convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar made it clear that no adjournment will be given in the matter on the next date of hearing.

On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Gujarat's Godhra, triggering riots in the state.

Several appeals have been filed in the apex court challenging the October 2017 verdict of the Gujarat High Court which had upheld the conviction of several convicts and commuted the death penalties of 11 people to life term.

The Gujarat government had in February 2023 told the apex court that it will be seeking death penalty for the 11 convicts whose sentences in the case were commuted to life imprisonment by the high court.

When the matter came for hearing on Thursday, a lawyer, appearing for a convict, submitted that no evidence has been put on record.

"We don't know. We will hear the matter and we had clarified this earlier. We will not adjourn this case. This case has been adjourned at least five times. (For the) last one year, I have been adjourning this matter," Justice Maheshwari said.

The lawyer told the court that some of the convicts have filed remission pleas that are pending.

Refusing to adjourn the matter, the bench said, "We have instructions from the Chief Justice's office that the cases of criminal appeal and remission need not to be heard together."

Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for one of the convicts, submitted that the appeal filed by Gujarat against commutation of death penalty to life has to be heard first.

"Twenty-two years have passed... My clients have not been awarded death. This bench will have to first confirm the guilt. Once that is confirmed, then comes the sentencing part. When we go through that, that will possibly take time. There will be repercussion if you were to send to three judges," Hegde said.The court then deferred the matter for hearing to February 13 after the lawyers appearing for the convicts sought time.

During the hearing before the apex court earlier, the state's counsel said the 11 convicts were sentenced to death by the trial court and 20 others were awarded life term in the case.

The high court had upheld the 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term, the counsel had said.

While the state has appealed against the commutation of death penalty to life term for the 11 convicts, several convicts have challenged the high court's verdict upholding their convictions in the case.