Gulberg riots: Zakia Jafri’s plea referred to larger bench

NEW DELHI A Supreme Court benchonMondayreferredtoa larger bench the plea of slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri’s widow seeking documents on probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Gulberg Housing Society riot case in Ahmedabad in 2002.
A two-judge bench of JusticeDKJainandJusticeMadan B Lokur said it cannot go into theissueasSITprobeandrelated issues concerning the Godhra and other riot cases of 2002 in Gujarat was dealt by a three-member special bench which on September 12, 2011 had passed the order relating to supply of documents to Jafri’s widow, Zakia Jafri.
“Weareoftheviewthatthe said order was passed by another bench and so it would be appropriate that the matter be heard by the same bench. Let the matter be placed before that larger bench as expeditiously as possible,“ it said.
The bench said it would not be proper for it to pass the order and propriety also demands that the matter be referred to the larger bench which had passed the order.
The apex court on September 12, 2011 had directed the SIT to forward its final report regarding the Gulberg Society riots to the local court.
The SIT headed by former CBI Director R K Raghavan had probed the riot cases including the Ahmedabad Gulberg Housing Society massacre case in which Jafri, a former Congress MP, was killed.
An Ahmedabad trial court had on November 27 accepted the SIT closure report filed on March 13, 2012 in the case.
Zakia Jafri has filed the SLP challenging the trial court’s order rejecting her plea for some documents relating to the investigation in the case.
Jafri was seeking the documents to file a protest petition against the SIT’s closure report in the probe into the Gulburg Society riots in which 69 people were killed by a mob on February 28, 2002. PTI