‘Clean chit’ for Narendra Modi? Not yet

Is it a clean chit for chief minister Narendra Modi from the court that he was not involved in the 2002 riots and that he was not at all responsible for what happened during the most violent time in Gujarat's recent history?

Not at all! The case is not yet closed, nor has the court passed an order giving a clean chit to Modi. On Tuesday, Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate MS Bhatt's court passed an interim order asking the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) to give a copy of its final report and some 20,000 odd pages of documents to the complainant Zakia Jafri, within 30 days. The court gave this order while hearing a clutch of petitions in this regard.

Zakia is the widow of slain Congress ex-MP Ehsan Jafri who was burnt alive on February 28, 2002, by a mob at his home in Gulbarg society. Her petition followed her failed attempts over several years to register an FIR against Modi and 57 other people including BJP leaders and government officials who, she alleged, were responsible for the riots and ensuring that no help was provided to her husband.

This petition - which was supported by activist Teesta Setalvad - was heard by the Apex Court which directed the SIT headed by former CBI director RK Raghavan to investigate into the allegations made in it.

After going through the SIT report and the report of amicus curiae Raju Ramchandran, the Supreme Court asked the SIT to submit its report before the trial court in Ahmedabad.

In its order dated September 12, 2011, the Apex Court had ordered the trial court that in case the SIT report fails to find evidence against Modi, the court should not close the case without hearing the petitioners including Zakia. And that it should get all the documents and reports submitted
by the SIT.

The only reprieve for Modi - which has been dubbed wrongly as 'clean chit' - is the conclusion of the SIT in its report claiming that it had found no evidence to register an FIR against Modi for involvement in the carnage at Gulbarg Society.

"According to the SIT, no offence has been established against any of the accused listed in Zakia's complaint," the metropolitan magistrate observed.

"The SIT shall give a copy of the final report, statements of witnesses and all related documents to Zakia Jafri within 30 days of this order. As per the Supreme Court order and also the principle of natural justice, she can then be heard before taking any legal action on the SIT's closure report," the metropolitan magistrate said.

He added that there was no need to issue notice to Zakia in this regard as she had already approached the court for a copy of the SIT report.

The magisterial court delivered its order on Tuesday after hearing petitions filed by lawyers of Zakia Jafri, Citizens for Justice and Peace, and others seeking a copy of the SIT's final report.
Earlier, there were speculations in some sections of the media that the SIT had given the Gujarat chief minister a clean chit but there had been no confirmation of this until the order given on Tuesday.

On the orders of the Apex Court, the SIT had investigated into the allegations made in Zakia's petition. It had taken the statements of hundreds of people and questioned the Gujarat chief minister for nine hours in this connection. After completing its investigation, the SIT submitted a 550-page final report. After going through the report, the Supreme Court asked amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran to verify the SIT's findings independently. The amicus curiae visited Gujarat and took the statements of some people, including suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, regarding Modi's role during the riots.

There were speculations that in his report Ramachandran had implicated Modi for making provocative speeches during the riots, though this is yet to be confirmed. Ramachandaran's report has not been published yet, but was provided to the SIT. 
The Apex Court had directed the SIT to submit a final report, along with the entire material collected by it, to the metropolitan magistrate's court. Hence, the SIT submitted its final report on February 28.

On September 12, 2011, the Supreme Court ordered that if the SIT found there was not enough evidence for proceeding against any person named in Zakia's complaint, the metropolitan court shall issue notice to the complainant and make available to her copies of the statements of the witnesses, other related documents and the investigation report. The metropolitan court was asked to do this before taking a final decision on the SIT's 'closure' report.