Godhra verdict: Death sentence of 11 commuted to life

Just in: The Gujarat High Court commutes the death sentence of 11 convicts to life terms. The convicts had challenged the convictions and acquittals by a special SIT court in the 2002 Godhra train coach burning case. The court rejected pleas for acquittals.


Coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express, in which 59 people, mostly 'kar sevaks' returning from Ayodhya were travelling, was burnt on February 27, 2002 at the Godhra station, triggering riots in the state.


The special SIT court had on March 1, 2011 convicted 31 people and acquitted 63 in the case. While 11 people were sentenced to death, 20 were given life in jail.


Later, several appeals were filed in the High Court challenging the conviction, while the state government had questioned the acquittal of 63 people.


The court had convicted 31 people while accepting the prosecution's contention that there was a conspiracy behindthe incident.


All the 31 were convicted under IPC sections related to murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy.


Those acquitted included the prime accused, Maulana Umarji, the then president of Godhra Municipality Mohammad Hussain Kalota, Mohammad Ansari and Nanumiya Chaudhary of Gangapur, Uttar Pradesh.The Nanavati Commission, appointed by the Gujarat government to probe the carnage, had concluded that the fire in the S-6 coach was not an accident, but it was set ablaze.


Image: Flowers are strewn on the burnt coach of the Sabarmati Express. Pic: Ahmad Masood/Reuters