A special court on Thursday acquitted all 17 the accused in the Naroda Gam communal riot case of 2002, in which eleven members of the Muslim community were killed. The accused included former Gujarat minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Maya Kodnani, and Bajrang Dal leader, Babu Bajrangi, along with 84 others. Eighteen of the accused died in the intervening period.
The Ahmedabad court of S K Baxi, special judge for SIT cases, acquitted all the accused in what was one of the major post-Godhra riots cases that was probed by a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team.
The trial began in 2010 and has continued for almost 13 years, with six different judges presiding over the case. The prosecution called 187 witnesses while the defence called 57. Special prosecutor Suresh Shah stated that among the evidence presented by the prosecution were call details of Kodnani, Bajrangi, and others during the period in question, as well as a video of a sting operation conducted by journalist Ashish Khetan.
In September 2017, current Union home minister and senior BJP leader, Amit Shah, appeared as a defence witness for Kodnani, as she claimed that she was present at the Gujarat Assembly and Sola Civil Hospital during the time of the massacre. Kodnani was previously convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail for her involvement in the Naroda Patiya riot case, where 97 people were killed. However, she was later discharged by the Gujarat High Court. In the present case, she was charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, murder, and attempted murder, reported news agency PTI.
The Naroda Gam case was one of nine major communal riots cases investigated by the Special Investigation Agency (SIT) and heard by special courts. The accused are facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, attempted murder, unlawful assembly, rioting, criminal conspiracy, and provocation for riots, among others. The maximum punishment for these crimes is death.
The trial proceedings had been delayed due to the retirement and transfer of judges. The trial concluded around four years ago, and the prosecution completed their arguments, but the defence was making their arguments when the presiding judge retired. Arguments restarted before Judge MK Dave and later Judge SK Baxi.