Congratulating
the Indian Judiciary on the re-trial of Gujarat
Best Bakery case
On 12 April, the Supreme Court of India had
ordered a re-trial of a high-profile murder case,
known as the "Best Bakery Case",
following the Godhra train attack and the Gujarat
riots of February 2003. In a rare move, the Court
also ordered the new trial be moved to
neighbouring Maharashtra state, where a fair
trial would be more possible without prejudiced
investigation and jurisdiction.
The Best Bakery case, named after the shop where
the burning and killing happened, has come to
symbolise the lack of major progress in bringing
to justice those responsible for the Gujarat
riots in which rights groups claimed 2,000
people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
"This is a historic judgment. Retrials are
very rare in India. And it's even rarer for a
trial to be transferred on the basis of a
statement by one witness." said Mihir Desai,
a lawyer for survivor and chief witness Ms.Zahira
Sheikh, 20.
The Court commented that "Judicial criminal
administration system must be kept clean and
beyond the reach of whimsical political wills or
agendas and properly insulated from
discriminatory standards or yardsticks..... Since
the public prosecutor acted more as a "defense
counsel" during the trial in Vadodara, the
apex court took the extraordinary step of
allowing the
complaints to have a role in the selection of the
public prosecutor who will conduct the retrial.
Though witnesses or victims do not have any
choice in the normal course to have a say in the
matter of appointment of a 'public prosecutor',
it felt constrained to make an exception 'in view
of the unusual factors noticed in this case'."
The Supreme Court also criticized the Gujarat
High Court for making irresponsible remarks
against instrumental organizations, such as the
National Human Rights Commission and Citizens for
Justice and Peace who has been protecting and
supporting the witnesses to file for appeal.
Documentation Research Training Centre and other
non-governmental organizations monitoring the
trial of Best Bakery case rejoiced over the
judgment and are asking the international
community to applaud the good deed of the Indian
government on the case.
Please write letters of
congratulations to:
Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisana Hill,
New Delhi, INDIA
Fax : (91) 11 301 68757 / 301 9545 / 301
9334 residence
Email: vajpayee@sansad.nic.in
Send copies to:
Supreme Court Bench (Justice Doraiswamy
Raju and Justice Arijit Pasayat)
Courts Informatics Division
National Informatics Centre
A Block, CGO Complex
Lodi Road, New Delhi 110003
Fax: 91-11-3383792 / 3381508
The Chairman, National
Human Rights Commission
National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhuvan,
1st Floor Parliament Street,
New Delhi, INDIA
Fax: (91) 11 3340016 / 3366537 / 334 4113
Send blind copy (BCC)
separately to:
Fr Cedric Prakash and Ms Teesta Setalvad
Citizens for Justice and Peace
P.O.Box 28253
Juhu P.O., Juhu,
Mumbai 400049
INDIA
Email:cjp02in@yahoo.com
SAMPLE
LETTER
We congratulate the
judiciary for issuing an unprecedented
order in the re-trial of the Best Bakery
Case in another State where trial would
be more possible without prejudiced
investigation.
We hope that justice will be upheld
similarly in all the other riot related
cases pending in the court and protection
of witnesses will be given utmost
priority.
We urge you to extend secure protection
to all the activists and personnel and
bodies involved in upholding justice in
the abovementioned cases. |
Thank You for Your
Continued Support.
|
Background
of The Best Bakery Case:
Following an attack on a train in Godhra on 27
February 2002, violence of unprecedented
brutality targeting the Muslim Community spread
in the Gujarat State. The state government
administration and police allegedly took
insufficient action to protect civilians. In many
cases, police have recorded complains in a highly
defective manner, and responsibilities of eminent
suspects have not been investigated by the police.
The Best Bakery was burnt in the Hanuman Tekri
area of Vadodara on 1 March, 2002; a number of
persons were killed and injured. Hanuman Tekri is
a lower middle class and poor neighbourhood. Most
of the residents are Hindus and very few Muslims
lived there. The Muslim family owning this Bakery
had moved to this area only six months prior to
this incident. All other Muslims staying in the
area had already left their houses soon after the
carnage began - Feb 27 2002. Only this family
stayed on because Jayantibhai Chaiwala, an
influential person in the area assured them of
safety.
However, it was Jayantibhai Chaiwala and his two
sons, Munna painter and others who allegedly led
a mob of 500-700 people and attacked the bakery
on 1 March at 8:00pm. The bakery was attacked
furiously by petrol bombs and burning logs.
Police arrived only an hour and a half after the
report, when they stopped briefly and drove away.
A total of 14 people, including 3 women and 4
children were killed. Ms. Zahira Sheikh, the
bakery owner's daughter who narrowly escaped,
filed a complaint with the police, but was
refused to be given a copy of the report.
The Concerned Citizen's Tribunal was appointed to
make inquiries into the injustice. It comprises
members of retired Justices, eminent people of
the press, social activists, such as National
Human Rights Commission and Citizens for Justice
and Peace. The Tribunal visited Vadodara in May
2002 and recorded detailed evidence of violence
in these places.
A charge sheet was filed in June 2002. The Case
appeared in the fast track court in May 2003, but
during the trial, Ms. Zahira Sheikh and 35 other
witnesses turned hostile and denied the
statements made previously, leading to the
acquittal of the 21 accused in the case due to
lack of evidence. According to the Judgment (12
April 2004), the prosecutor did not take any
steps to protect witnesses, and the main witness
specifically stated about the threat given to her
and the reason why she did not come out with the
truth during examination.
The following month, after Ms. Zahira broke her
silence, National Human Rights Commission moved
for Supreme Court to re-open the case,
challenging the acquittal verdict. The 21 accused
were re-arrested in October 2003 and the Supreme
Court finally accepted appeal against the
acquittal in March 2004.
Related information;
http://www.sabrang.com/news/2004/bakeryjudgement.pdf - Supreme Court
Judgment dated 12 April 2004
http://www.acpp.org/uappeals/2002/020328s5.html - support to the
refugees and
aid workers following the Godhra incident
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL89201.htm
http://www.pluralism.org/news/intl/index.php#headline6644
http://in.news.yahoo.com/040412/43/2ciq4.html |
|