Prominent Hindus Like Doctors And Engineers Faced Prolonged Trial Due To 'Pseudo-Secular Media', Says Gujarat Court While Acquitting 35 Hindus In 2002 Riots

Lambasting “pseudo-secular media and politicians” for unnecessarily prolonging the trial and observing that Muslim witnesses introduced a new story every time, a Gujarat court has acquitted 35 Hindus facing trial for two decades for murder of three Muslim men during the 2002 communal riots.

The verdict was given by Sessions Court, Halol, in Panchmahal district on 12 June, and was made available on 15 June.

The Case

Bodies of three Muslim men namely Ruhul Amin Padva, Harun Abdulsattar Tasiya and Yusuf Ibrahim Shaikh were found by police a couple of days after four compartments of the Sabarmati Express carrying Kar Sevaks were allegedly set on fire by a Muslim mob at Godhra railway station on 27 February, 2002. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad called a bandh a day after the carnage. 

A first information report (FIR) (number 33/2002) was filed at Kalol police station in the three deaths against unidentified people. Subsequently, 52 people from the Hindu community were made accused on the basis of statements by people who came forward as witnesses. 

The accused were charged for murder and rioting among other offences. As per the Prosecution, the accused were part of “fanatical Hindu mobs” and carried out the killings on the day of the bandh in Derol and Delol area.

During the long trial, 17 accused passed away.

The Verdict

In the verdict, Halol Additional Sessions Judge Harsh Trivedi said that there is no evidence that the accused persons committed the offences. About the case made by prosecution, the Judge said that although a total of 130 witnesses were produced, the prosecution failed to prove beyond doubt the involvement of the accused.      

The court observed that after 59 Kar Sevak passengers in the train were burnt, “pseudo-secular media and politicians rubbed salt into wounds of anguished people”, and unlike what the media portrayed, the communal riots that ensued were spontaneous.

The Judge observed that witnesses from the Muslim community kept changing their statements, which prolonged the trial. 

“Several persons of Muslim community who were said to be victims of communal violence in Delol, Derol, Kalok etc. had made oral and written representations of their grievance, before different higher authority…I have gone through their written allegations and their statements in police diary…I found that every time they introduced new story,” the order says.

The Prosecution unnecessarily prolonged the case by calling such a large number of witnesses, the order observed, adding that “testimonies of almost all witness[es] revealed to be wholly unreliable”.

The Judge further observed, “In case on hand the police has unnecessarily implicated accused in alleged commission of crime. Police implicated prominent Hindu persons of the area Doctor, Professor, Teacher, Businessmen, Panchayat official etc…Due to uproar of pseudo-secular media and organisation, the accused persons have unnecessarily to face prolonged trial (sic).            

The order can be accessed here.