SC passes Gulbarg Society case back to magistrate

In what is being read as a relief for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi the Supreme Court today on Monday refused to pass an order on his alleged inaction and even collusion in the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in the state, leaving it to a lower court to decide whether Modi should be investigated.

The apex court had constituted a special investigation team to probe the matter. Today, a three-judge bench headed by Justice D K Jain with Justices P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam directed the SIT to submit its final report before the magistrate concerned, who would decide whether to proceed against Modi and 63 others, including senior government officials.

The bench made it clear that there was no need for it to further monitor the riot cases.

The bench also said in case the magistrate decides to drop proceedings against Modi and others, he would have to hear the plea of slain MP Ehsan Jafri's widow Zakia Jafri, who had filed a complaint against the Gujarat chief minister.

The Ahmedabad magistrate's court will pronounce its verdict in the Gulberg Society massacre case in which 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed by a mob during the riots.

Some 1,200 people were killed in a few weeks across the state in the riots, which many alleged were state sponsored.