Godhra Verdict: Explaining the delay

Justice delayed ? or Bhagwan ke ghar mein der hai andher nahin?

Post the Godhra special courts judgement on the Sabarmati Express train burning case I wanted to comment on the criticism leveled by the usual suspects concerning the ‘undue delay’ in delivering justice. I ask to be forgiven for drawing attention to the possibility that a single mention of the victims of the case made to wait for almost a decade for justice is yet to be found.

In any case what caused the delays? Here’s a timeline of the case:

• Feb 27^th 2002 – Around 8.00 AM the S-6 Coach was torched leading to a death of 59 passengers
• Feb 28^th 2002 – FIR has been filed against 1500 People
• Mar 3^rd 2002 – Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance has been invoked against those arrested for the Godhra Train Burning case. POTA was an Ordinance before becoming an act
• Mar 6^th 2002 – Gujarat Govt appoints a commission to probe the Godhra Incident and and Post Godhra Riots under the commission of Inquiry act headed by KG Shah to complete the report and submit within 3 months. After some time and opposition from political parties Retired Justice Nanavati was appointed to be part of the commission on May 22^nd 2002 – Time Check – 3 Months wasted only to change the panel.
• Mar 9^th 2002 – Police include IPC section 120B (Criminal conspiracy) against all accused
• Mar 25^th 2002 – POTO suspended on all accused due to pressure from central government (Ruled by NDA)
• May 27^th 2002 – First charge-sheet filed against 54 accused. (Not under POTA)
• Jul 18^th 2002 – Gujarat assembly dissolved for elections
• Sep 21^st 2002 – Akshardham Attack
• Dec 12^th 2002 – Polling for Gujarat Assembly
• Dec 15^th 2002 – BJP returns to power under Narendra Modi
• Feb 18^th 2003 – POTA re-invoked against the accused
• Nov 21^st 2003 – Supreme Court stays judicial proceedings against all riot related cases including Godhra Train burning. Time Check – 18 months have gone after the first charge-sheet. Some of it thanks to NGO activists like Teesta Setalvad from CJP
• Till May 2004 – Nation moves into general election mode and ruling NDA lost and UPA 1.0 Govt formed with MMS as the Prime Minister of India
• Sep 4^th 2004 – U C Banerjee heads a committee to probe into the train burning case after the then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav asks for it
• Sep 17^th 2004 – POTA repealed by UPA 1.0 Govt
• Sep 21^st 2004 – As POTA has been repealed, there is a decision taken to review the POTA charges against the accused
• Jan 17^th 2005 – Justice U C Banerjee submits a report suggesting the fire in S-6 was an accident ( Just a curious coincidence that elections to Bihar assembly where Lalooji’s party was also contesting were to be held in February 2005)
• May 16^th 2005 – POTA Review committee gives its opinion not to charge accused under POTA given – Time Check – 3 Precious Years gone from the first charge-sheet was filed
• Oct 13^th 2006 – Gujarat HC rules that the formation of UC Banerjee Committee was set up illegally, in violation of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 which prohibits the setting up of separate commissions by state and central governments to probe a matter of public importance
• December 2007 – Narendra Modi wins the state assembly elections and comes back to power
• Mar 26^th 2008 – Supreme Court Constitutes Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate Godhra Train burning case and eight other post-godhra riots – Time Check Almost 4 years and 10 Months passed away after the first charge-sheet was filed, again thanks to CJP and Teestaji, the Supreme Court and POTA review.
• Sep 18^th 2008 – Nanavati Commission report submits its report on Godhra Train burning incident and says it was a pre-planned conspiracy
• Feb 12^th 2009 – Gujarat HC upholds POTA review committee decision that the act cannot be applied
• May 1^st 2009 – Supreme Court lifts the stay on Godhra train and all othercases after it finds SIT has made considerable progress – Time Check – Almost 6 years after the Supreme Court Stays the earlier judicial proceedings
• June 1^st 2009 –Finally A fast track trial court starts the proceedings inside the Sabarmati jail premises  – Almost 7 years after the first charge-sheet is filed
• Mar 25^th 2010 – Narendra Modi is questioned by SIT
• May 6^th 2010 – Again the Supreme Court restrains trial courts not to pronounce judgment in the train burning case and other riot cases
• May 2010 – UPA 2.0 Govt wins back the national elections
• Set 28^th 2010 – Trial Concludes but no pronouncement of judgment due to stay by Supreme Court – Time Check – within 15 months the hearings of witnesses and evidence completed from the start
• Jan 18^th 2011 – Supreme Court lifts the ban on pronouncement of verdict
• Feb 22^nd 2011 – Trial Court Convicts 31 and acquits 63 others

Time Check : 20 Months from Trial start to judgment but almost 9 years after the ghastly attack. In the meantime 5 accused died during the pendency of the case and 8 were tried by a juvenile court as they were under aged. 253 Witnesses examined and 1500 Documentary evidences were presented by Gujarat police to the court.

It is a pity that nobody dares criticize this unacceptable interference with the due process of delivering justice to the victims (and the accused, now convicted or acquitted). I shall leave it to the reader to guess (and that can’t be hard to do given the above time-line) as to who really caused the delay in the prosecution and what their motivations were.