News Analysis India

Tag: 2002 Gujarat riots

  • After Gujarat, MP House resolution against BBC documentary

    Express News Service

    BHOPAL:  Three days after PM Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat passed a resolution against the BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots, another BJP-ruled state of Madhya Pradesh on Monday cleared a censure motion on the same issue.

    The MP Vidhan Sabha, which resumed its Budget session on Monday, after a 10-day festive break, passed the censure motion against the BBC documentary for allegedly tarnishing PM Modi’s image. The motion, which was passed by voice vote, was moved as a private member resolution by three-time BJP legislator Shailendra Jain and seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra.

    Moving the resolution, the BJP legislator accused the BBC of telecasting an objectionable documentary by misinterpreting the 2002 riots and ultimately presenting the then Gujarat CM and present PM in a bad light. He also alleged that the BBC documentary had even cast aspersions on the judiciary, which amounted to contempt of court. Jain demanded strict action against BBC.

    Subsequently, the resolution was put to test by the Assembly Speaker, followed by its passage with a voice vote in the 230-strong House, where the BJP enjoys a majority with 120-plus members.

    CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “The Vidhan Sabha accepted and passed with a voice vote the BJP MLA Shailendra Jain’s private member resolution, demanding strict action against the broadcaster, which while wearing the mask of investigative journalism, has actually attacked India’s sovereignty through the documentary. The broadcaster has tried to weaken India’s constitution…” 

    “It’s to condemn BBC’s act and demand action against the broadcasters that the censure motion has been passed by MP Vidhan Sabha today.”

    BHOPAL:  Three days after PM Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat passed a resolution against the BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots, another BJP-ruled state of Madhya Pradesh on Monday cleared a censure motion on the same issue.

    The MP Vidhan Sabha, which resumed its Budget session on Monday, after a 10-day festive break, passed the censure motion against the BBC documentary for allegedly tarnishing PM Modi’s image. The motion, which was passed by voice vote, was moved as a private member resolution by three-time BJP legislator Shailendra Jain and seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra.

    Moving the resolution, the BJP legislator accused the BBC of telecasting an objectionable documentary by misinterpreting the 2002 riots and ultimately presenting the then Gujarat CM and present PM in a bad light. He also alleged that the BBC documentary had even cast aspersions on the judiciary, which amounted to contempt of court. Jain demanded strict action against BBC.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Subsequently, the resolution was put to test by the Assembly Speaker, followed by its passage with a voice vote in the 230-strong House, where the BJP enjoys a majority with 120-plus members.

    CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “The Vidhan Sabha accepted and passed with a voice vote the BJP MLA Shailendra Jain’s private member resolution, demanding strict action against the broadcaster, which while wearing the mask of investigative journalism, has actually attacked India’s sovereignty through the documentary. The broadcaster has tried to weaken India’s constitution…” 

    “It’s to condemn BBC’s act and demand action against the broadcasters that the censure motion has been passed by MP Vidhan Sabha today.”

  • BJP to propose resolution against BBC’s 2002 riots documentary in Gujarat Assembly

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vipul Patel will on Friday move a resolution in the Assembly seeking “strong action” against the “concocted” findings shown in a BBC documentary, which he alleged “once again attempts to blame the then-state government” for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

    The proposed resolution will likely say the BBC documentary was a “low-level attempt” to tarnish India’s global image.

    “India is a democratic country and freedom of expression is at the core of its Constitution, but that does not mean that a news media can abuse such freedom,” according to a summary of the proposed resolution shared by the Assembly secretariat on Tuesday.

    The two-part BBC documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question”, claimed it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.

    “If someone behaves or acts like this (BBC), then he cannot be taken lightly. BBC is losing its credibility and seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian government. Hence, this House requests the Central Government to take strict action against the mind-boggling findings shown in the BBC documentary,” said a note on the resolution to be moved by Patel.

    The controversial documentary again “attempts to blame the then-state government for the 2002 Godhra riots and subsequent communal riots in Gujarat,” said the note.

    The BBC documentary misrepresents the events of 2002 and is a malicious and low-level attempt to tarnish India’s global image, it said.

    Through the documentary, deliberate attempts have been made to tarnish the image and popularity of Prime Minister Modi with an agenda to affect India’s goal to be in a top place in the world, said the note.

    This, despite the fact that the Nanavati-Shah inquiry commission concluded after a thorough investigation that burning of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, was a premeditated conspiracy, and the riots that followed were spontaneous, it said.

    The commission found no evidence that the state government or any religious organization or political party played any role in the riots, stated the note.

    The Assembly, which is having its Budget session, will meet on Friday after a two-day break.

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vipul Patel will on Friday move a resolution in the Assembly seeking “strong action” against the “concocted” findings shown in a BBC documentary, which he alleged “once again attempts to blame the then-state government” for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

    The proposed resolution will likely say the BBC documentary was a “low-level attempt” to tarnish India’s global image.

    “India is a democratic country and freedom of expression is at the core of its Constitution, but that does not mean that a news media can abuse such freedom,” according to a summary of the proposed resolution shared by the Assembly secretariat on Tuesday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The two-part BBC documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question”, claimed it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.

    “If someone behaves or acts like this (BBC), then he cannot be taken lightly. BBC is losing its credibility and seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian government. Hence, this House requests the Central Government to take strict action against the mind-boggling findings shown in the BBC documentary,” said a note on the resolution to be moved by Patel.

    The controversial documentary again “attempts to blame the then-state government for the 2002 Godhra riots and subsequent communal riots in Gujarat,” said the note.

    The BBC documentary misrepresents the events of 2002 and is a malicious and low-level attempt to tarnish India’s global image, it said.

    Through the documentary, deliberate attempts have been made to tarnish the image and popularity of Prime Minister Modi with an agenda to affect India’s goal to be in a top place in the world, said the note.

    This, despite the fact that the Nanavati-Shah inquiry commission concluded after a thorough investigation that burning of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, was a premeditated conspiracy, and the riots that followed were spontaneous, it said.

    The commission found no evidence that the state government or any religious organization or political party played any role in the riots, stated the note.

    The Assembly, which is having its Budget session, will meet on Friday after a two-day break.

  • SIT files charge sheet against Teesta Setalvad, two others in Gujarat riots case

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A special investigation team (SIT) on Wednesday submitted a charge sheet against activist Teesta Setalvad, retired Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Investigating Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Police B V Solanki told PTI that the charge sheet was filed in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate here.

    Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Rahul Sharma has also been made a witness in the case, he added.

    The crime branch FIR reportedly states that the trio abused the process of law by conspiring to fabricate evidence in an attempt to frame innocent people for an offence punishable with capital punishment in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The accused have been charged under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) of the IPC, among other provisions.

    ALSO READ | 2002 Gujarat riots: Activist Teesta Setalvad walks out of jail after over two months

    Setalvad, arrested in the last week of June, was released on interim bail following a September 2 order of the Supreme Court.

    Sreekumar remains lodged in the jail in the case.

    The third accused, Bhatt is in a jail in Palanpur where he is serving life sentence in a custodial death case.

    AHMEDABAD: A special investigation team (SIT) on Wednesday submitted a charge sheet against activist Teesta Setalvad, retired Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Investigating Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Police B V Solanki told PTI that the charge sheet was filed in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate here.

    Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Rahul Sharma has also been made a witness in the case, he added.

    The crime branch FIR reportedly states that the trio abused the process of law by conspiring to fabricate evidence in an attempt to frame innocent people for an offence punishable with capital punishment in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The accused have been charged under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) of the IPC, among other provisions.

    ALSO READ | 2002 Gujarat riots: Activist Teesta Setalvad walks out of jail after over two months

    Setalvad, arrested in the last week of June, was released on interim bail following a September 2 order of the Supreme Court.

    Sreekumar remains lodged in the jail in the case.

    The third accused, Bhatt is in a jail in Palanpur where he is serving life sentence in a custodial death case.

  • 2002 Gujarat riots: SC grants interim bail to Teesta Setalvad

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: After almost two months of incarceration, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad who has been accused of allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high state officials in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The bench of CJI UU Lalit, Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia has also directed for producing her tomorrow before the Magistrate and releasing her on conditions which the trial court deems appropriate. She has been asked to surrender her passport till the matter is heard by the Gujarat HC and ensure complete cooperation.

    Considering Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s contention that it would be difficult for her to get surety, the court has also asked the trial court to consider granting her bail on submission of cash surety rather than local surety.

    “Entire matter on merits shall be considered by the HC independently and uninfluenced by any of the observations made in this order. It is further made clear that relief has been granted in a peculiar case and that she happens to be a lady. This shall not be used by other accused as and when the occasion arises,” the court has also noted in its order.

    Appearing for Teesta, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had submitted that the facts in the FIR were nothing but recitation of the proceedings which ended with judgement and order dated June 24, 2022. It was also Sibal’s contention that the offence against the Teesta was not even made out and as such there was prima facie case in favour of the appellant. He had also stressed the fact that she was in custody for more than 2 months and was thus entitled to the relief of interim bail during the pendency of application before the Gujarat High Court.

    “I have not alleged the judge, judiciary. I’m not doing anything. I don’t expect this from a law officer. This is all motivated. Even if they are typed, how can forgery come into this? If forgery comes then the person who complains of forgery must come to court. But the state is coming here and saying. This is malicious and motivated and what I did was in the larger interest of the public. This has led to my incarceration. These affidavits have been filed in some other cases,” Sibal further asserted.

    Opposing Teesta’s bail, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State of Gujarat submitted that since her plea challenging the rejection of bail was pending before the Gujarat High Court, the matter must be allowed to be considered by the High Court. He further contended that apart from the FIR, there was additional evidence that pointed towards the involvement of Teesta.

    Stressing on the allegations of falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses which were levelled against her, SG said, “Allegations is a falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses, that’s precise which we are investigating. Your lordship has seen the nature of the conspiracy. It’s not ending with the petitioner. It’s starting with the petitioner. These are powerful people involved. This has been going on since 2002. Maligning campaigns has to be stopped.” To further substantiate his contention, Mehta also referred to some statements recorded by the Magistrate under section 164 of CrPC which prima facie pointed towards the fact that there was not some misunderstanding but a calculated conspiracy to achieve a particular goal.

    Yesterday, the bench asked the State of Gujarat what kind of additional material could the state gather by keeping Teesta Setalvad in custody for two months.

    “Has there been some additional material apart from the SC judgment? In the last 2 months, have you filed any charge sheet or something? We want to know what kind of material you have gathered within 2 months. Lady has completed more than 2 months of custody, is there anything which has been elicited out of custodial interrogation and today as the thing stands, FIR is nothing more than what has emerged in court,” CJI UU Lalit said.

    Frowning upon the Gujarat HC’s August 3rd order of fixing a long date in her plea assailing the lower court’s order rejecting her bail, the bench also comprising Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “Give us instances, where a lady was accused in similar situations & HC, has issued notice returnable within six weeks. Is this standard practice in the State of Gujarat?”

    The top judge was of the opinion that the FIR registered by Anti-Terrorism Squad, Gujarat was nothing but what the top court had said in Zakia Jafri’s judgment.

    Within 24 hours of the SC dismissing the petition preferred by Zakia Jafri for a probe into a larger conspiracy case behind the riots, Gujarat ATS had arrested Teesta in FIR registered u/s 468, 471, 194, 211 and 120 B of IPC against her, Mr Sanjiv Bhatt and Mr RB Sreekumar.

    Before the SC, Teesta had challenged order(s) dated July 30 passed by the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad of rejecting her bail and August 3, 2022, passed by Gujarat HC of fixing a long date in plea assailing lower court’s order.

    She had argued in the petition that she strongly believed that she had been targeted by the State for raising critical issues before the Apex Court challenging the administration and providing support to the victims of riots.

    NEW DELHI: After almost two months of incarceration, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad who has been accused of allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high state officials in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The bench of CJI UU Lalit, Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia has also directed for producing her tomorrow before the Magistrate and releasing her on conditions which the trial court deems appropriate. She has been asked to surrender her passport till the matter is heard by the Gujarat HC and ensure complete cooperation.

    Considering Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s contention that it would be difficult for her to get surety, the court has also asked the trial court to consider granting her bail on submission of cash surety rather than local surety.

    “Entire matter on merits shall be considered by the HC independently and uninfluenced by any of the observations made in this order. It is further made clear that relief has been granted in a peculiar case and that she happens to be a lady. This shall not be used by other accused as and when the occasion arises,” the court has also noted in its order.

    Appearing for Teesta, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had submitted that the facts in the FIR were nothing but recitation of the proceedings which ended with judgement and order dated June 24, 2022. It was also Sibal’s contention that the offence against the Teesta was not even made out and as such there was prima facie case in favour of the appellant. He had also stressed the fact that she was in custody for more than 2 months and was thus entitled to the relief of interim bail during the pendency of application before the Gujarat High Court.

    “I have not alleged the judge, judiciary. I’m not doing anything. I don’t expect this from a law officer. This is all motivated. Even if they are typed, how can forgery come into this? If forgery comes then the person who complains of forgery must come to court. But the state is coming here and saying. This is malicious and motivated and what I did was in the larger interest of the public. This has led to my incarceration. These affidavits have been filed in some other cases,” Sibal further asserted.

    Opposing Teesta’s bail, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State of Gujarat submitted that since her plea challenging the rejection of bail was pending before the Gujarat High Court, the matter must be allowed to be considered by the High Court. He further contended that apart from the FIR, there was additional evidence that pointed towards the involvement of Teesta.

    Stressing on the allegations of falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses which were levelled against her, SG said, “Allegations is a falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses, that’s precise which we are investigating. Your lordship has seen the nature of the conspiracy. It’s not ending with the petitioner. It’s starting with the petitioner. These are powerful people involved. This has been going on since 2002. Maligning campaigns has to be stopped.” To further substantiate his contention, Mehta also referred to some statements recorded by the Magistrate under section 164 of CrPC which prima facie pointed towards the fact that there was not some misunderstanding but a calculated conspiracy to achieve a particular goal.

    Yesterday, the bench asked the State of Gujarat what kind of additional material could the state gather by keeping Teesta Setalvad in custody for two months.

    “Has there been some additional material apart from the SC judgment? In the last 2 months, have you filed any charge sheet or something? We want to know what kind of material you have gathered within 2 months. Lady has completed more than 2 months of custody, is there anything which has been elicited out of custodial interrogation and today as the thing stands, FIR is nothing more than what has emerged in court,” CJI UU Lalit said.

    Frowning upon the Gujarat HC’s August 3rd order of fixing a long date in her plea assailing the lower court’s order rejecting her bail, the bench also comprising Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “Give us instances, where a lady was accused in similar situations & HC, has issued notice returnable within six weeks. Is this standard practice in the State of Gujarat?”

    The top judge was of the opinion that the FIR registered by Anti-Terrorism Squad, Gujarat was nothing but what the top court had said in Zakia Jafri’s judgment.

    Within 24 hours of the SC dismissing the petition preferred by Zakia Jafri for a probe into a larger conspiracy case behind the riots, Gujarat ATS had arrested Teesta in FIR registered u/s 468, 471, 194, 211 and 120 B of IPC against her, Mr Sanjiv Bhatt and Mr RB Sreekumar.

    Before the SC, Teesta had challenged order(s) dated July 30 passed by the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad of rejecting her bail and August 3, 2022, passed by Gujarat HC of fixing a long date in plea assailing lower court’s order.

    She had argued in the petition that she strongly believed that she had been targeted by the State for raising critical issues before the Apex Court challenging the administration and providing support to the victims of riots.

  • Teesta Setalvad moves SC for bail in Gujarat riots case, hearing on Aug 22

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 22 a plea by activist Teesta Setalvad seeking interim bail in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli posted the matter for hearing before a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on August 22 after advocate Aparna Bhat mentioned the case for urgent listing.

    “Upon being mentioned by Aparna Bhat, Advocate on Record for the petitioner seeking urgent listing of the matter, the Registry is directed to list the matter on August 22, 2022, before a Bench presided over by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit,” the bench in its order stated.

    Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court.

    On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

    ALSO READ | Teesta Setalvad arrest keeps Godhra pot boiling

    They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

    The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.

    The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri had challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.

    The SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by activist Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 22 a plea by activist Teesta Setalvad seeking interim bail in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli posted the matter for hearing before a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on August 22 after advocate Aparna Bhat mentioned the case for urgent listing.

    “Upon being mentioned by Aparna Bhat, Advocate on Record for the petitioner seeking urgent listing of the matter, the Registry is directed to list the matter on August 22, 2022, before a Bench presided over by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit,” the bench in its order stated.

    Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court.

    On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

    ALSO READ | Teesta Setalvad arrest keeps Godhra pot boiling

    They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

    The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.

    The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri had challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.

    The SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by activist Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling. 

  • ‘Setalvad was part of conspiracy to frame then-Gujarat CM Modi in 2002 riots cases’, claims SIT 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others as accused in the post-Godhra riots cases, and attempted to destabilize the BJP government using funds collected in the name of victims, a state SIT told a court on Wednesday.

    Setalvad was arrested last month by the Ahmedabad crime branch along with former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in the 2002 riots cases.

    The Mumbai-based activist, currently in jail in Gujarat, has sought bail.

    A special investigation team (SIT) of the Gujarat police, probing the charges against Setalvad and the two former police officers, has opposed her bail plea.

    Arguing against the bail plea of Setalvad, special public prosecutor (SPP) Mitesh Amin told the court of sessions judge DD Thakkar in Ahmedabad that she was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-chief minister Modi and others as accused in the riots cases.

    Amin told the court Setalvad received funds on the ground they were meant to be distributed among the victims of the 2002 riots, but the money never reached the intended beneficiaries.

    The SPP claimed the money never reached the victims, and it was rather used to destabilise the then-BJP government and show it engineered and sponsored the riots, which were triggered after a mob torched a coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station on February 27, 2002, leading to the death of 59 passengers.

    The conspiracy involved Congress leaders like the late Ahmed Patel and others, and all this was done at the behest of the opposition party, he said.

    Further arguments will continue on Thursday.

    The court is hearing the bail pleas of both Setalvad and Sreekumar.

    They have already refuted all the charges levelled against them and claimed there was no merit in them.

    READ HERE | Chimanlal Setalvad did not give clean chit to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Historians

    Setalvad, along with Sreekumar and Bhatt, was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 468 (forgery) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence), among other offences after arrest.

    The SIT, in its affidavit submitted before the court last week, had accused Setalvad of conspiring with the two other accused — Sreekumar and Bhatt — for “dismissal or destabilisation of the elected government in Gujarat by hook or by crook.

    ” Opposing her bail plea, the SIT said in the affidavit that the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Patel.

    At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after the post-Godhra riots, the probe team alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases”, the SIT further claimed in the affidavit.

    Last month, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, killed during the riots in Ahmedabad.

    The plea alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

    But the court upheld a previous SIT’s clean chit to Modi (who was Gujarat CM from 2001 to 2014) and 63 others.

    The apex court had said there is no “title of material” to support the allegation that the communal violence that took place after the Godhra train burning incident was a “pre-planned event” owing to a conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state.

    Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society during the violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident.

    The central government had informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the statewide riots.

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others as accused in the post-Godhra riots cases, and attempted to destabilize the BJP government using funds collected in the name of victims, a state SIT told a court on Wednesday.

    Setalvad was arrested last month by the Ahmedabad crime branch along with former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in the 2002 riots cases.

    The Mumbai-based activist, currently in jail in Gujarat, has sought bail.

    A special investigation team (SIT) of the Gujarat police, probing the charges against Setalvad and the two former police officers, has opposed her bail plea.

    Arguing against the bail plea of Setalvad, special public prosecutor (SPP) Mitesh Amin told the court of sessions judge DD Thakkar in Ahmedabad that she was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-chief minister Modi and others as accused in the riots cases.

    Amin told the court Setalvad received funds on the ground they were meant to be distributed among the victims of the 2002 riots, but the money never reached the intended beneficiaries.

    The SPP claimed the money never reached the victims, and it was rather used to destabilise the then-BJP government and show it engineered and sponsored the riots, which were triggered after a mob torched a coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station on February 27, 2002, leading to the death of 59 passengers.

    The conspiracy involved Congress leaders like the late Ahmed Patel and others, and all this was done at the behest of the opposition party, he said.

    Further arguments will continue on Thursday.

    The court is hearing the bail pleas of both Setalvad and Sreekumar.

    They have already refuted all the charges levelled against them and claimed there was no merit in them.

    READ HERE | Chimanlal Setalvad did not give clean chit to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Historians

    Setalvad, along with Sreekumar and Bhatt, was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 468 (forgery) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence), among other offences after arrest.

    The SIT, in its affidavit submitted before the court last week, had accused Setalvad of conspiring with the two other accused — Sreekumar and Bhatt — for “dismissal or destabilisation of the elected government in Gujarat by hook or by crook.

    ” Opposing her bail plea, the SIT said in the affidavit that the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Patel.

    At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after the post-Godhra riots, the probe team alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases”, the SIT further claimed in the affidavit.

    Last month, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, killed during the riots in Ahmedabad.

    The plea alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

    But the court upheld a previous SIT’s clean chit to Modi (who was Gujarat CM from 2001 to 2014) and 63 others.

    The apex court had said there is no “title of material” to support the allegation that the communal violence that took place after the Godhra train burning incident was a “pre-planned event” owing to a conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state.

    Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society during the violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident.

    The central government had informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the statewide riots.

  • 2002 Gujarat riots: SIT’s charges against Ahmed Patel manufactured, mischievous, says Congress

    By Agencies

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday dismissed as “mischievous and manufactured”, Gujarat police SIT’s charges that its leader Ahmed Patel had financed civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad and hatched a conspiracy to dislodge the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led state government.

    “This is part of the Prime Minister’s systematic strategy to absolve himself of any responsibility for the communal carnage unleashed when he was chief minister of Gujarat in 2002. It was his unwillingness and incapacity to control this carnage that had led the-then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remind the chief minister of his ‘rajdharma’,” Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

    The statement said that this is Prime Minister’s political vendetta machine which does not even spare the departed who were his political adversaries.

    “This SIT is dancing to the tune of its political master and will sit wherever it is told to. We know how an earlier SIT chief was rewarded with a diplomatic assignment after he had given a ‘clean chit’ to the chief minister,” Jairam said.

    He said giving judgment through press, in an ongoing judicial process, through puppet investigative agencies who trumpet wild allegations as supposed findings, has been the hallmark of the Modi-Shah duo’s tactics for years.

    “This is nothing but another example of the same, with the added object of vilifying a deceased person since he is obviously unable and unavailable to refute such brazen lies.”

    Setalvad has been arrested, along with former IPS officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the Gujarat riots case.

    Citing the statements of a witness, the SIT HAD said the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Ahmed Patel. At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after post-Godhra riots in 2002, it alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases,” the SIT further claimed.

    It cited another witness to claim that Setalvad in 2006 had asked a Congress leader why the party was giving “chance to only Shabana and Javed” and not making her a member of the Rajya Sabha.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)

    ALSO READ | Pinarayi flays Congress’ ‘silence’ on arrests of RB Sreekumar, Teesta Setalvad

    (With online desk inputs)

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday dismissed as “mischievous and manufactured”, Gujarat police SIT’s charges that its leader Ahmed Patel had financed civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad and hatched a conspiracy to dislodge the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led state government.

    “This is part of the Prime Minister’s systematic strategy to absolve himself of any responsibility for the communal carnage unleashed when he was chief minister of Gujarat in 2002. It was his unwillingness and incapacity to control this carnage that had led the-then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remind the chief minister of his ‘rajdharma’,” Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

    The statement said that this is Prime Minister’s political vendetta machine which does not even spare the departed who were his political adversaries.

    “This SIT is dancing to the tune of its political master and will sit wherever it is told to. We know how an earlier SIT chief was rewarded with a diplomatic assignment after he had given a ‘clean chit’ to the chief minister,” Jairam said.

    He said giving judgment through press, in an ongoing judicial process, through puppet investigative agencies who trumpet wild allegations as supposed findings, has been the hallmark of the Modi-Shah duo’s tactics for years.

    “This is nothing but another example of the same, with the added object of vilifying a deceased person since he is obviously unable and unavailable to refute such brazen lies.”

    Setalvad has been arrested, along with former IPS officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the Gujarat riots case.

    Citing the statements of a witness, the SIT HAD said the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Ahmed Patel. At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after post-Godhra riots in 2002, it alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases,” the SIT further claimed.

    It cited another witness to claim that Setalvad in 2006 had asked a Congress leader why the party was giving “chance to only Shabana and Javed” and not making her a member of the Rajya Sabha.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)

    ALSO READ | Pinarayi flays Congress’ ‘silence’ on arrests of RB Sreekumar, Teesta Setalvad

    (With online desk inputs)

  • ‘Will CM, government be never held accountable even if….’ Congress on 2002 Gujarat riots verdict

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday asked if a chief minister or a state government will ever be held accountable even if the state is thrown into a circle of pre-meditated violence and riots, a day after the Supreme Court upheld an SIT clean chit to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case.

    The party said the Supreme Court verdicts should not be politicised but asked if it is only the collector or police officers who are responsible for any riot in their jurisdictions and not their political masters. “Will Chief Minister, Cabinet & State Govt be never held accountable, even if the State is thrown into a circle of pre-meditated violence and riots?” asked Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala.

    His remarks through a series of tweets came a day after the Supreme Court Friday upheld the Special Investigation Team’s clean chit to Modi and 63 others in the 2002 communal riots in the state. “Is responsibility only of the Collector and deputy commissioner of Police and not of political executive? What then is the Constitutional and moral responsibility of Chief minister and the state government?” Surjewala asked.

    The law in “New India” -:Failure to stop or inaction to act against those committing violence is not actionable ground against State Govt.To act upon Intelligence inputs is immaterial.1/n https://t.co/XYeHUZl4aI
    — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 25, 2022
    The law in this “New India” is, he said, “Failure to stop or inaction to act against those committing violence is not actionable ground against State Government. To act upon Intelligence inputs is immaterial. Was Supreme Court right then in saying – ‘As Rome burnt, Nero fiddled’ or is it right now? Is failure or inaction no longer actionable in law? Let the nation think.”

    Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “The decisions of the Supreme Court should never be politicised.” He said that the Supreme Court upheld the SIT’s clean chit, according to which there was no conspiracy and the violence was a natural reaction.

    “One should not forget many convicts of murder in Gujarat riots, on whom the guilt was proved. The Supreme Court denies conspiracy or statement by the Prime Minister in the absence of certain police officers. It should simply be respected as an order of the Supreme Court,” he said.

    The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the SIT’s clean chit to the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 communal riots in the state, saying there is no tittle of material to show the violence after the Godhra train carnage was pre-planned” owing to the criminal conspiracy allegedly hatched at the “highest level” in the state.

    Observing that inaction or failure of some officials of one section of the administration cannot be the basis to readily infer a pre-planned criminal conspiracy by the authorities or to term it as a state-sponsored crime against the minority community, the court dismissed a plea by slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri’s wife Zakia, terming it as “devoid of merits”.

    Bringing the curtains down on the bid to reopen the probe into the 2002 riots, a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar also spoke of the devious stratagem to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design, and said disgruntled officers of the Gujarat government need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law for creating a sensation by making false revelations.

    Alleging a larger conspiracy behind the mass violence against Muslims, Zakia had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s October 5, 2017 order rejecting her petition against the finding of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

  • Citing ‘overlapping’, NCERT removes portions on 2002 Gujarat riots, Emergency, Mughal courts from class 12 books

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The NCERT has removed portions about the 2002 Gujarat riots, Emergency, Cold War, Naxalite movement and Mughal courts from its class 12 textbooks as part of its “syllabus rationalisation” exercise.

    The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has cited “overlapping” and “irrelevant” as reasons for dropping those portions from the syllabus.

    Many of these changes were announced earlier this year when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rationalised its syllabi in April.

    Besides schools under CBSE, some state boards also use NCERT textbooks.

    Listing the changes, the NCERT, in a note, said, “The content of the textbooks has been rationalised for various reasons, including overlapping with similar content in other subject areas in the same class, similar content included in the lower or higher classes on the same subject.

    It also stated that difficulty level, content which is easily accessible to students without much intervention from teachers and can be learned by self-learning or peer-learning and content which is irrelevant in the present context have been removed.

    In class 12 political science textbook, pages on the topic ‘Gujarat Riots’ will be excluded from the chapter titled ‘Recent Developments in Indian Politics’.

    The mention of the National Human Rights Commission report on the 2002 violence and the “raj dharma” remark by then Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee has been dropped from the textbook.

    Also, chapters on Mughal courts in a history textbook, a poem on the Dalit movement and a chapter on the Cold War, are among the exclusions from the political science textbook.

    In Class 10, the excluded chapters included verses of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in the ‘Religion, Communalism and Politics — Communalism, Secular State’ section of the textbook ‘Democratic Politics II’.

    Also, chapters titled ‘Democracy and Diversity’, ‘Popular Struggle and movements’ and ‘Challenges to Democracy’ have been dropped.

    In the social science textbook of classes seven and eight, references to Dalit writer Omprakash Valmiki were removed.

    In the class seven textbook titled ‘Our Pasts-2’, the topic ‘Emperors: major campaigns and events’, has been removed.

  • Violence in 2002 Gujarat riots perpetrated through design: Zakia Jafri tells SC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The violence in the 2002 Gujarat riots was perpetrated through a “design” which emanates from the documents, Zakia Jafri Tuesday told the Supreme Court while arguing that the Republic is like a ship that will only be steady if the “majesty of the law prevails”.

    Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, during the violence, has challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister during the riots.

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Zakia Jafri who has alleged larger conspiracy during the riots, told a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar that this is a case where the majesty of the law has been “deeply injured”.

    Terming the 2002 incidents of Godhra and subsequent riots as a “national tragedy of gargantuan proportions”, Sibal said the petitioner is concerned with how the majesty of the law will deal with such issues when men “behave like animals”.

    “These are not matters of an individual case of murder or violence committed. It is violence which was perpetrated through design and the design emanates from the documents,” he told the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C T Ravikumar while referring to the materials placed by Jafri.

    Sibal said that these documents were part of the official record and the SIT had not investigated these aspects.

    He said the petitioner is neither concerned with individuals nor pointing a finger or wish to prosecute A or B.

    “The issue is much larger than the issue of prosecuting individuals. It deals with the polity of this country. It deals with the manner in which institutions are to act in a national emergency. This was a national emergency. What happened in Sabarmati (train) resulted in a national emergency,” Sibal said.

    The S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, killing 59 people and triggering riots in Gujarat in 2002.

    During the arguments, the senior advocate said what happened after the Sabarmati Express incident was equally a national tragedy.

    “I am concerned with how the majesty of the law will deal with such issues when men behave like animals,” he said, adding, “Therefore, ultimately, I am looking at my own Constitution and saying to myself, can this be allowed under the rule of law in our system. And if it is going to be allowed, then who is going to protect us.”

    Sibal said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had not probed several aspects and materials which were available on the record and the trial court had also not examined them.

    He said one can seldom have direct evidence of conspiracy and it is based on circumstantial evidence which will come up only if there is an investigation.

    “If you don’t investigate, you will never find out the circumstances and you will never discover the conspiracy,” he said.

    Referring to the materials available on the record, he said it prima facie showed that there was a conspiracy but who all were involved in this would be known only if there is an investigation on all the aspects.

    “I am not here to establish conspiracy. That’s not my job. That is the job of the SIT,” Sibal said, adding, “My grievance is that they have not investigated it.”

    He said despite there being “actionable evidence on record”, the SIT or the magistrate did not take note of it.

    Sibal said he had demonstrated during his arguments before the apex court about how there was police inaction, complicity, and failure of concerned authorities to take preventive action during that time.

    “Your lordships have given us, I would say, my lords, a hearing that only suggests that this court gives the maximum leeway when issues of great magnitude come before this court and it is in that spirit that your lordships have heard me,” he said.

    Sibal concluded the day’s submissions by saying “the Republic is like a ship. That has to be made steady and the ship will only be steady if the majesty of law prevails.”

    The bench, after hearing Sibal’s submissions, said it would hear senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is appearing for the SIT, on Wednesday.

    Sibal had earlier argued that Zakia Jafri’s complaint of 2006 was that there was “a larger conspiracy where there was bureaucratic inaction, police complicity, hate speeches and unleashing of violence”.

    Rohatgi had earlier told the apex court that Zakia Jafri’s complaint alleging larger conspiracy was thoroughly examined after which the SIT concluded that there was no material to take it forward.

    Ehsan Jafri, the former MP, was among the 68 people killed in the violence, a day after the Godhra train incident.

    On February 8, 2012, the SIT had filed a closure report giving a clean chit to Modi, now the Prime Minister, and 63 others including senior government officials, saying there was “no prosecutable evidence” against them.

    Zakia Jafri had filed a petition in the apex court in 2018 challenging the Gujarat High Court’s October 5, 2017 order rejecting her plea against the SIT decision.

    The high court in its October 2017 order had said the SIT probe was monitored by the Supreme Court.

    However, it partly allowed Zakia Jafri’s petition as far as its demand for a further investigation was concerned.