Court dismisses plea to transfer Godhra riots case

An Ahmedabad court dismissed an application, on Tuesday, filed by some of the witnesses in Gulburg housing society case of the post-Godhra riots, seeking transfer of the matter to another court on the ground that the current judge was biased.

Principal sessions judge G B Shah, hearing the application by Imtiyaz Pathan and seven others, said the court before which the plea has been filed, does not have any jurisdiction over the Special Court hearing the riot cases. The witnesses had alleged bias on part of designated judge B U Joshi, presiding over the trial in the Gulburg case, aintaining that the judge's attitude was against the victims and favoured the accused.

After the transfer petition was dismissed, the counsel for witnesses, S M Vohra, sought a stay on the proceeding in judge Joshi's court so that they can approach higher courts. Shah, however, stated that when his court does not have any jurisdiction, how can it stay the proceedings? During the argument on the transfer plea, Vohra said the witnesses feel they would not get justice under judge Joshi in the case in which 69 people were killed.

He said the Judge had shown a "hostile" attitude towards the victims and a "benign" attitude towards the accused during the trial.  The application said Judge Joshi had disallowed witnesses from stepping out of the witness box and going at the back of the courtroom to identify the accused. Objection regarding this raised by the witnesses were also overruled, it further said.

Prosecution argued that since the special court has been set up by Gujarat HC on directions from the Supreme Court to try Gulburg and eight other riot cases, the sessions judge did not have any jurisdiction over it. The nine cases are being probe afresh by the apex court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffery was among the 69 people killed in riots at Gulburg here on February 28, 2002, a day after the torching of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra. The trial of the cases investigated by the SIT was being conducted by special courts in different districts.