Gulbarg accused's bail plea held Ganatra back

It was the bail application of an accused in Gulbarg massacre case– Sandip alias Sonu Mehra – that forced officials of SIT to request the Gujarat high court to revoke the transfer of magistrate BJ Ganatra. The order of Ganatra’s transfer was issued on May 2 this year.

Mehra’s bail application was heard on May 7 and Ganatra’s transfer was revoked on May 11.

Before his transfer order came in, Ganatra was hearing Zakia Jafri’s protest petition and the Gulbarg massacre case. He was to resume hearing on Wednesday. However, RS Jamuar, advocate of SIT, was absent, due to which the hearing has been scheduled on June 3.

Mehra in his bail application had stated that the court should either give him bail or speed up the trail, as he was lodged in the prison as an under-trial prisoner for last 11 years.  

He had said that due to SC stay on trial of Gulbarg massacre he was neither being tried nor able to get bail. Mehra, according to sources, is accused of being part of the crowd that set houses on fire. Meanwhile, amicus curiae for the case Harish Salve informed SC that Ganatra’s transfer had delayed hearing in the case. “The SC bench observed that a new magistrate would have to hear the case from the beginning,” a source in SIT told dna.