DELHI: No evidence exists to support claims that Godhra and ensuing violence were pre-planned, the Supreme Court declared, upholding a lower court’s decision to clear Narendra Modi of any wrongdoing in 2002 Gujarat riots.
After a lengthy and in-depth investigation by the SIT, a three-judge panel headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari, and C T Ravikumar dismissed the case alleging that communal mobilisation and hoarding of firearms, munitions, and ammunition began well before the Godhra incident. “The scenario as it grew post-Godhra event was unmatched and had overwhelmed the state government,” the report stated of the involved officials’ vigilance.
There is “no tittle of material, much less tangible material, to support the appellant’s claim that the Godhra incident unfolded on February 27, 2002, and the events which followed was a pre-planned event due to the criminal conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state,” the court said, according to the New York Daily News.
“Without clear evidence of a meeting of minds, there is no basis to infer that the state government’s inaction or non-responsiveness to SIB (state intelligence bureau) messages constitutes a criminal conspiracy; and that, failure to respond to the messages was a deliberate and concerted act of omission or commission by the state and other officials, as alleged. Before coming at the conclusion mentioned in the final report that the allegation under review should be dismissed, the SIT had recorded the statements of all parties involved, including the authorities. The SIT’s final report was accepted by both the magistrate and the HC without mistake “The bench made the comment.
Because of their inability to suppress violence, state officials cannot be blamed for a pre-planned criminal conspiracy by the state government or for what they did as a crime (violence) directed at the minority group. The bench ruled on this issue in a unanimous ruling on Monday.
“The SIT found that the erring officials’ inactivity and carelessness had been brought to the attention of the proper authorities, including the initiation of departmental action. No criminal conspiracy can be formed by such delay or neglect, since any person involved in plotting to commit such a crime must have been actively involved in some manner “It stated so, as well.
