29, Aug 2012

The
Supreme Court today issued notice to the Gujarat government
and stayed Magistrate Ganatra’s order dated 27.11.2013 closing Zakia
Jafri’s right to file a Protest Petition. Smt Zakia Jafri had, on
8.6.2006 filed a complaint alleging a sinister and wide level
conspiracy to allow violence, deliberately subvert the strict
directions to maintain order that led to the loss of over 2,500
minority lives. Chief Minister Narendra Modi, cabinet colleagues,
senior IPS and IAS officers are among the 61 accused in this
complaint. The Supreme Court had ordered investigation into the
allegations on 27.4.2009 in the special leave petition filed by Smt
Jafri and the Citizens for Justice and Peace. (SLP 1088/2008)
Finally on 12.9.2011 the Supreme Court had directed that the matter
be placed for consideration before a Magistrate under Section 173(2)
and all documents related to the investigation be provided to the
complainant.

We are
praying for the right to get access to all investigations reports
under Section 173(8) of the CRPC. Ever since the matter came up
before the Magistrate in Ahmedabad, the SIT has been resisting
making any documents available. An earlier Magistrate Bhatt (later
transferred) granted Smt Jafri documents by an order dated
10.4.2012. Even after that, the SIT has been doggedly trying to
conceal those further investigation reports that were submitted
before the Supreme Court by Shri Malhotra and Shri Raghavan between
May 2010 and July 2011 as they take a very different view from the
Final Closure Report submitted by Himanshu Shukla on 8.2.2012. In
his two reports to the Supreme Court, Amicus Curiae Shri Raju
Ramachandran had come to the conclusion that there was sufficient
material to prosecute chief minister Narendra Modi and at least two
senior policemen.

The next
date for Zakia Jafri’s special leave petition is 7th February 2013.
The CJP is assisting her legally in the case. This Special Leave
Petition filed by Smt Jafri assisted by Citizens for Justice and
Peace was specifically filed to get clarity on the Order of the
Supreme Court that the SIT came misinterpreting before the
Magistrate (SLP 8989/2012). This first came up for hearing on
December 3, 2012. On December 10 last year the SC had asked Chairman
SIT RK Raghavan to answer how previous statements of accused
collected during investigation had not been made available to the
complainant. Thereafter on December 15, 2012 about 1500 pages of
documents were made available.

Now the pending issue in the matter remains the further
investigation reports filed by SIT. The Supreme Court has also asked
Amicus Curiae Shri Raju Ramachandran to assist the court in the
matter.

Senior advocates Kamini Jaiswal and Sanjay Parikh appeared for Smt
Jafri and CJP assisted by Ms. Aparna Bhat and Mr. Ramesh Pukhrambam.
Advocate Mihir Desai has also been appearing in this matter.

Teesta Setalvad
Secretary and Trustee

Other
Trustees:
I.M. Kadri
Nandan Maluste                    Cyrus Guzder
Arvind Krishnaswamy              Javed Akhtar
Alyque Padamsee
Anil Dharker
Ghulam Pesh Imam
Cedric Prakash
Rahul Bose
Javed Anand