High Court judge declines to hear plea

The petition challenging the SIT's proposed investigation of the role of chief minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in the riots of 2002, will now be heard by another judge of the Gujarat high court.

The petition was to be heard on Monday but when it came up for hearing before Justice Harsha Devani's bench, he said: 'Not before me'. The case will now revert back to the chief justice of the Gujarat high court who will, thereafter, assign it to another judge of the court.

The Supreme Court had directed the SIT to probe Modi's role and that of 62 others, in response to a complaint filed by Jakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ahesan Jafri, who was killed in the riots.

Kalu Maliwad, former BJP MLA, has challenged the SIT's right to probe Modi's role on the ground that the SIT cannot investigate the role of the 63 persons as the supreme court, in its order, had only asked it to 'look into' the case. An investigation can't be done without lodging an FIR.