Gujarat Riots: Supreme Court Upholds Clean Chit To PM Modi

New Delhi: There was good news for Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Supreme Court on Friday.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, upheld the clean chit given by Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then-Gujarat chief minister Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots and dismissed a petition filed by slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri’s wife Zakia Jafri.

Zakia had protested against the closure report by the magistrate.

Former MP Ehsan Jafri was among 68 people killed at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad during violence on February 28, 2002 — a day after the Godhra train burning. His widow had challenged SIT’s clean chit to 64 people, including Modi.

The bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar, stated that Zakia’s plea, alleging a larger conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots, was devoid of merit.

Hearing Zakia’s petition challenging the October 5, 2017 high court order rejecting her plea against SIT decision, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on December 9, 2021.

As many as 59 people were killed when a sleeper class coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering widespread riots in Gujarat.

SIT filed a closure report on February 8, 2012, giving Modi and 63 others including senior government officials a clean chit as there was “no prosecutable evidence” against them.