SC refuses to grant bail to three convicts in 2002 Godhra train burning case

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of three convicts serving life term in the 2002 Godhra train burning case which plunged Gujarat into one of the worst communal riots terming it a very serious incidentThe incident is also a very serious incident It is not a question of an isolated person being murdered a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud observed adding that specific roles have been attributed to these convictsThe apex court said it will list the appeals challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict in the case before an appropriate benchThe bench also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra refused to enlarge the convicts Saukat Yusuf Ismail Mohan Bilal Abdullah Ismail Badam Ghanchi and Siddik on bail at this stageSenior advocate Sanjay Hegde appearing for the convicts told the bench that the three were awarded life term by the trial court and while one of them is in custody for over 17 years and six months another is in jail for 20 yearsHaving regard to the specific role which is attributed to the appellants at this stage we are not inclined to enlarge the appellants on bail the bench saidHegde argued two of them have been accused of minor offences of stonepelting and robbing people of ornaments during the violence He said those ornaments were never recoveredSolicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Gujarat government referred to the findings of the trial court against the three convicts and said one of them was among the main conspirators who instigated a mob which was carrying deadly weaponsAll these three have active roles the bench observedThe high court had upheld the life term awarded to the three convicts by the trial court and their appeals are pending before the apex courtOn April 21 the top court had granted bail to eight people sentenced to life imprisonment in the caseThe convicts who were granted bail in April were Abdul Sattar Ibrahim Gaddi Asla Yunus Abdul Hakk Samol Mohammad Hanif Abdulla Moulvi Badam Abdul Rauf Abdul Majid Isa Ibrahim Abdulrazak Abdul Sattar Samol Ayub Abdul Gani Ismail Pataliya Soheb Yusuf Ahmed Kalandar and Suleman Ahmad HussainThe top court however had refused to grant bail to four convicts Anwar Mohammad Mehda Saukat Abdulla Moulvi Ismail Badam Mehboob Yakub Mitha and Siddik Mohammad Mora after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed their applications highlighting their role in the incidentDuring the earlier arguments before the apex court Mehta had said it was not merely a case of stonepelting as the convicts had bolted a bogie of the Sabarmati Express and set it ablaze leading to the death of 59 passengersOn February 27 2002 59 people were killed when the S6 coach of the train was set ablaze in Gujarats Godhra triggering massive communal riots that soon engulfed many parts of the stateIn its October 2017 judgment the high court had commuted the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case to life imprisonment It had upheld the life sentence awarded to 20 othersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever