SC to consider Maya Kodnani's bail plea on Thursday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will consider on Thursday the plea to extend the temporary bail granted to former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani, convicted in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, on medical grounds as she was in a "pitiable" condition after suffering burn injury.

"We are convinced she has suffered burn injury. She is in a pitiable condition and she needs some relief," a bench comprising justices H L Dattu and S A Bobde said.

"You file an affidavit, we will take the matter on Thursday," the bench told senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, who said that Kodnani has on Tuesday suffered burn injury after she fell on a lamp at a temple and has been admitted to a trauma centre.

The bench said it cannot grant any relief without hearing the state government.

Kodnani has filed the petition challenging the February 8 order of the Gujarat high court declining to extend her three months temporary bail granted on medical grounds on November 12 last year.

She had sought extension of bail by 180 days. The trial court had in August 2012 awarded life imprisonment to Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 29 others for Naroda Patiya incident of 2002 riots in which 97 people were killed.

The trial court had dubbed Kodnani, a sitting Bharatiya Janata Party member of Legislative Assembly and former minister in the Narendra Modi government, as "kingpin of riots" in Naroda area and sentenced her to 26-year life imprisonment.