WHETHER THE CONVICTS OF GODHRA TRAIN BURNING CASE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR PREMATURE RELEASE?
The Supreme Court addressed bail applications filed by convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case on Monday. A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala heard the case. Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Gujarat, stated that the State will be requesting that the cases be classified as “rarest of rare” due to the seriousness of the offence. He further remarked that convicts’ cases could not be considered for premature release under Gujarat’s policy because TADA rules had been invoked against them.
On February 27, 2002, 58 people were killed in a fire inside the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati express, which was transporting kar sevaks from Ayodhya. The Godhra massacre sparked communal riots in Gujarat. The trial court convicted 31 people in March 2011, 11 of whom were sentenced to death and the remaining 20 to life in prison. 63 other defendants were acquitted.
In 2017, the Gujarat High Court mitigated 11 death sentences to life sentences and upheld the life sentence of the other. According to the state side, 59 people were burned alive in the train while the bogie was locked from the outside.
There were also ladies and children among the 59 persons. The state’s side then went on to detail the convicts’ roles in the case. CJI DY Chandrachud recalled that the bench had granted medical bail to one of the prisoners. On May 13, 2022, the Court granted one of the convicts interim bail for six months on the grounds that his wife had terminal cancer and his daughters were intellectually challenged.
The bail was renewed by the Court on November 11, 2022, until March 31, 2023. On December 15, the bench had also granted bail to a convict named Farook, sentenced to life in the Godhra carnage case, considering the fact that he has undergone 17 years sentence and that his role was of stone-pelting at the train.
Written By – Unnati
