Trial of Godhra carnage ends, judgment after Supreme Court lifts stay

The trial in the Godhra carnage got over today, more than eight years after the train burning incident killed 58 people and triggered communal riots across Gujarat in 2002, and the judgment will be pronounced after a nod from the Supreme Court.

Designated judge PR Patel completed hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence.

"Now only the verdict has to be pronounced. But due to the stay of the Supreme Court on pronouncing the judgment we will have to wait for the apex court's orders," special public prosecutor in the case JM Panchal said.

The trial which was conducted inside the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad against 94 accused, began in June 2009 with the framing of the charges and ended today, he said.

Assistant special public prosecutor NN Prajapati said that 253 witnesses were examined during the trial.

"More than 1,500 documentary evidence were put before the court against the accused," he said.

In all, there were 107 accused in the case, out of which five died during the past eight years, while eight others were juveniles who were transferred to juvenile court.

All the accused in the case have been charged for criminal conspiracy and murder for burning the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002 in which 58 people, mostly kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed.

Following the incident, widespread communal riots broke out in different parts of the state.

The prime accused in the case include Maulvi Umarji, Rajjab Kurkur, Nanumiya and Salim Yusuf Sattar Jarda who are currently in jail.

Salim Panwala, one of the prime accused, is still absconding and is believed to be in Pakistan.

Other accused in the case include Jabir Behra, who has made confessional statement under POTA, Mohammed Latika and Hasan Lalu.

The Supreme Court had stayed the pronouncement of judgment in Godhra train carnage case and eight others which were being investigated by the special investigation team in May this year hearing a bunch of petitions by an NGO and some riots activists.

According to the prosecution, the accused in the case planned the conspiracy to burn the Sabarmati train in a guest house in Godhra. They had also decided to execute the plan near "A" Cabin near Godhra railway station as it was a minority-dominated area.

The Godhra train carnage accused were booked under stringent POTA, however, it was later revoked by POTA review committee. Some of the victims had approached the high court against the decision of the POTA review committee which was turned down by the court.

The Nanavati Commission appointed by the state government to probe the Godhra carnage has in its report concluded that the fire in the coach S6 was not caused by an accident, but the coach was set on fire by throwing petrol inside it.

"The burning of the coach S6 was a pre-planned act. In other words there was a conspiracy to burn the coach of Sabarmati Express train coming from Ayodhya and to cause harm to the kar sevaks travelling it the coach," the report submitted to the state government in September 2008 said.

The commission had also exonerated Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, his council of ministers and police from any role in the Godhra train burning incident.