New prosecutors in Naroda Gam case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has appointed Ajay Choksi and Vaibhav Vyas as public prosecutors in the Naroda Gam case.

The appointment of these two lawyers was necessitated after Nigam Shukla, Vimal Solanki and Kalpen Goswami quit the case as prosecutors last month following the quitting of Gulbarg case prosecutors RK Shah and Nayana Bhatt.

Shah and Bhatt had resigned after blaming special judge in Gulbarg case, BU Joshi, of bias.

The remarks of a three-judge bench of SC came after, amicus curie in the case, Gopal Subramaniam, told the apex court that another public prosecutor had written to the SIT to transfer the trial outside Gujarat. Subramanium, also solicitor-general, was arguing in the case of reconsideration of dropping IPS officers Geetha Johri and Shivanand Jha from SIT.

The bench stated: "Who has told you? If he has disclosed to the media, then he has no business to be the public prosecutor." After this episode, Shukla and his two assistants resigned from the Naroda Gam case and the trial came to a halt. Shukla, however, had told DNA: "I have quit the case for personal reasons."

Choksi and Vyas are also special prosecutors in the British nationals' murder case.