Summary:
They also demanded more severe punishment for those convicted for relatively minor offences. There were 66 accused on trial for killing 69 persons, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri , at Gulbarg Society in the Chamanpura area of Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, during the post-Godhra communal riots.Six accused persons died during the trial and the verdict was delivered with regard to 60 accused. Of the 24 persons convicted, 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.There were 12 accused who were punished for minor offences and imprisoned terms between five and 10 years, while one was sentenced to six months in jail.While all the convicts challenged their convictions, the victim-witnesses questioned most of the 36 acquittals. AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has decided to fast-track the hearing of appeals in the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre case and has ordered the prosecution to supply paper books, the compilation of all case documents, to all parties in four weeks.A division bench headed by Justice JB Pardiwala said that after the prosecution supplied the paper books, the court would take a decision on fixing the date from when hearing shall begin, said special prosecutor R C Kodekar.The bench ordered the prosecuting agency, the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT), to provide case papers to all appellants after an advocate for the victim-witnesses, M M Tirmizi, submitted that they have not received the paper books and are thus not prepared for the final hearing.The bench earlier this week observed that the appeals needed to be heard expeditiously, as some accused in this case have been behind bars for more than a decade.On Tuesday, the HC noted in its order that the paper books are ready.In this sensitive case, the SIT has not filed any appeal against the lower court order of July 2016 convicting 24 persons and acquitting 36 others..