SC to start final hearing on Godhra train burning appeals on May 6

The Supreme Court will commence final hearing on May 6 on the appeals filed by the Gujarat Government and several other convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.

A Bench led by Justice JK Maheshwari on Thursday asked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing one of the convicts, to file a revised compilation of his submissions on charges against them, findings of courts below and his arguments supported by materials on record by May 3.

It asked the counsel for other convicts and the Gujarat Government to file revised preliminary compilation on similar lines. “Hearing of this matter would require at least two weeks. First, we will take it up on May 6 and 7 for the whole day and no other cases will be taken on these dates unless specifically asked by this court,” the Bench said.

The Bench asked the registry to take orders, if necessary, from the Chief Justice of India to this effect.

On February 27, 2002, as many as 59 persons were killed when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Gujarat’s Godhra, triggering riots in the state.

Several appeals have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the October 2017 verdict of the Gujarat High Court, which had upheld the conviction of several convicts and commuted the death penalties of 11 people to life term.

The Gujarat Government had in February 2023 told the Supreme Court that it will be seeking death penalty for the 11 convicts whose sentences in the case were commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court.

During the hearing before the Supreme Court earlier, the state’s counsel said the 11 convicts were sentenced to death by the trial court and 20 others were awarded life term in the case.

The High Court upheld the 31 convictions in the case and commuted the death penalties of the 11 convicts to life term, the counsel had said. While the state has appealed against the commutation of death penalty to life term for the 11 convicts, several convicts have challenged the High Court’s verdict upholding their convictions in the case.

India