Two petitions challenging the acquittal of the accused in the Sardarpura massacre case have been filed in the Gujarat high court. The state government has filed an appeal against the acquittal of 31 accused given benefit of doubt in the case.

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The human rights organisation, Citizens of Justice and Peace (CJP), has filed the other petition challenging the acquittal of 14 people who are among the 31 accused given the benefit of the doubt.

It may be mentioned here that another 11 accused were let off for want of evidence.

“We have filed a petition against 14 of the 31 accused given the benefit of the doubt by the special court which tried the case,” said senior counsel Mihir Desai who appeared for the CJP.

“There are some eyewitnesses who are ready to give evidence in court against 14 of the acquitted accused. These eyewitnesses were not considered earlier during the trial,” Desai added.

Regarding the government appeal, senior counsel JM Panchal who appeared on behalf of the SIT, said the court had convicted 31 people and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

“The trial court gave the benefit of the doubt to 31 accused and acquitted them. Another 11 were let off for lack of evidence. We have challenged the special court’s order acquitting the 31 accused,” Panchal said.

The high court may hear both the appeals by clubbing them. It posted the petitions for the next hearing on March 27.

On March 1, 33 people were burnt alive by a mob in Sardapura village of Mahesana district. The Sardarpura carnage was the first riot case to be investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT.

The probe team had implicated 73 people in the case out of which two died during trial and 31 were convicted. Of the rest, 31 were given the benefit of the doubt while 11 were let off for want of evidence. One accused was juvenile and his trial is going on in the juvenile court.