Maya Kodnani's bail hearing adjourned till Apr 27

The hearing on the bail application of former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani, an accused in the 2002 riots, was on Friday adjourned till April 27 by a court in Ahmedabad.

Kodnani had applied for regular bail after her police remand ended last week. She is an accused in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya cases, where 106 people of the minority community were killed by a mob on February 28, 2002.

When the matter came up for hearing before Sessions Court Judge A K Aswani, the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team probing the case submitted that Kodnani was accused of committing an offence of a serious nature. She had allegedly led the mob responsible for killing people in Naroda area.

Public prosecutor in the case Sudhir Bhrambhatt further submitted that Kodnani could influence witnesses and hamper investigation in other cases.

Court asked Kodnani's lawyer Mitesh Amin, "Why are you making haste in the matter?"

The Gujarat high court's order, canceling Kodnani's anticipatory bail, clearly mentions that investigation in the matter was on, it added.

The court further said that it would be premature to apply for bail at this juncture as the chargesheet against Kodnani is yet to be filed.