Godhra case: Govt says law will take its own course

Government on Tuesday reacted cautiously to the special court's verdict on the Godhra train burning case, saying the law will take its own course.

Government on Tuesday reacted cautiously to the special court's verdict on the Godhra train burning case, saying the law will take its own course.

HT Image

"The courts of law will take their own course...there are processes involved because definitely there will be an appeal filed in the High Court. Therefore, it is premature to comment on this," law minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters here.

He said it was necessary that the guilty behind the incident are punished. "Of course nobody can block the process of the courts of justice," he said.

Asked to react on the acquittal of main conspirator Syed Hassan Umarji, Moily said as a law minister he could not comment on the judgement of a sessions court.

"If there is any case, it is for the High Court to interfere, not for me," he said.

Asked to comment on the arrangements made by the Gujarat government to ensure peace against the backdrop of the verdict, Moily said there was nothing to compliment the state government about. "It is the creation of the state government itself," he quipped.

31 people were convicted by a special court in Ahmedabad in the Godhra train burning case while 63 others were acquitted.

Home minister P Chidambaram said he would not like to say anything on the issue before going through the judgement.

Minorities affairs minister Salman Khurshid it was important to understand the "reasoning" behind the judgement.

"How can we say the verdict is good or bad without understanding the reasoning," he said.

He, however, added that the series of events surrounding the incident have often raised question marks on the level of confidence in the state government.

"Only time will tell whether the verdict will help increase the level of confidence," he said.