The Ahmedabad metropolitan court on Monday reserved order till February 15 on applications seeking access to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report on the Gulbarg Society massacre.
Metropolitan magistrate MS Bhatt’s decision came even as the SIT opposed disclosure of its report —
submitted to the court on February 8 — at this juncture.
Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, rights activist Teesta Setalvad and others have sought copies of the report amid speculation that it gives Gujarat CM a breather in one of the worst post-Godhra train carnage massacre cases.
On March 1, 2002, rioters had killed 69 people including Ehsan Jafri at the Gulbarg Society, a housing colony of Muslims in eastern Ahmedabad.
The SC-appointed SIT told the court it had submitted only the concluding part of its report and would take at least a month to place the entire set of documents. SIT lawyer RS Jamuwar told the court Setalvad and others were not complainants in the case and should not be allowed access to the report, while the court could decide on Zakia Jafri’s demand after taking cognisance of the report.
The petitioners have contended that the report is a public document under the Indian Evidence Act. The SIT’s 550-page report came on Zakia Jafri’s allegations against Modi and 62 others of complicity in the anti-minority riots.
According to sources, the SIT has reportedly sought closure of the case against Modi and others citing lack of prosecutable evidence and absence of corroborative evidence. But HT could not make any independent confirmation.