Court rejects plea to make public SIT report on Gujarat riots

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Court rejects plea to make public SIT report on Gujarat riots

Clean Media Correspondent

Ahmedabad: Mar 3: (CMC)  A local 

court on Saturday rejected a plea by the 

widow of former Congress MP Ehsan 

Jafri, killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, 

for making public the SIT report on the 

riots.

Metropolitan magistrate M.M. Bhatt, while rejecting 

the plea, said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is 

yet to submit material related to the report.

As per the Supreme Court order after SIT submits its 

full report on the complaint of Zakia Jafri, conclusion 

was to be drawn by the metropolitan court.

Now that the investigation team has not yet 

submitted the full report, no conclusion can be 

drawn at this stage. Hence no action is required on 

the report now, the court said.

The court had earlier directed the SIT to submit its 

full report by March 15.

The court, in a September 2011 order, had directed 

the SIT to file its final report before the magistrate 

court and had said that if the magistrate decides to 

close the case he has to provide the full SIT report to 

the complainant and hear her, before closing it.

Last month, the SIT had submitted its final report in 

a sealed cover on a complaint by Ms. Jafri demanding 

that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other 

top politicians, police officers and bureaucrats 

should be made accused for the 2002 riots cases.

Earlier, SIT consul R.S. Jamaur had opposed Ms. 

Jafri’s plea saying that they have not submitted a 

complete report in the court yet.

He had argued that the court would first go through 

the report and decide as to what to do with it.

However, during arguments in previous hearing of 

the case on February 29, Ms. JAfri's lawyers had 

argued that the SIT has no locus standi to oppose the 

opening of the report in the court.

They had contended that the report once submitted 

in the court becomes a public document and anybody 

can access it.

Hence, they being a complainant cannot be denied 

access to it.

Her lawyers had also stated in the last hearing that 

since this is a final report submitted by the SIT after 

completing the investigations, it is only the court 

which can decide on the issues related to the report.