The Hindu : SC to monitor appeal in Best Bakery case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 10, 2003

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SC to monitor appeal in Best Bakery case

By J. Venkatesan

New Delhi Oct. 9. In a significant development in the `Best Bakery case', the Supreme Court today said it would monitor the appeal filed by the Gujarat Government in the High Court against the acquittal of all the 21 accused in the case by the Vadodara trial court.

A three-judge Bench — comprising the Chief Justice, V.N. Khare, and Justices S.B. Sinha and A.R. Lakshmanan — appointed the senior advocate, Harish Salve, to assist the prosecution in the appeal and to inform the court of the progress at each stage and seek directions, if required.

The Bench also asked the Gujarat Government to finalise the names of the Special Public Prosecutors to conduct the appeal in consultation with the Attorney-General, Soli Sorabjee. It asked Mr. Salve to go through all petitions connected with the post-Godhra riot cases and give his recommendations and suggestions to the court on October 17, the next date of hearing.

Appearing for the Gujarat Government, the Additional Solicitor-General, Mukul Rohtagi, said the State Government had filed an amended appeal before the High Court, and a re-trial as well as further inquiry into the incident, in which 14 persons were burnt to death, had also been sought.

Mr. Rohtagi said the High Court, which admitted the appeal and posted it for final hearing on December 1, had been requested to accept the additional evidence to ensure that what had happened in the trial court was not repeated and that there was no miscarriage of justice. Regarding the on-going cases, he said the State Government had appointed police officers in the rank of Inspector-General of Police to monitor and ensure a link with the Public Prosecutors.

Appearing for the accused, senior counsel, K.T.S. Tulsi, questioned the locus standi of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to intervene in the appeal. Citing an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court, he said that under the Criminal Procedure Code, no intervention should be permitted by way of public interest litigation, even if it raised a "million questions of law". When the appeal was pending before the High Court, only that court could alter, substitute or order a re-trial or fresh investigation.

Accusing the NHRC of "sensationalising" the case, Mr. Tulsi said an unprecedented situation had been created as if all the accused were guilty and had been let off by the trial court. The Supreme Court must allow the law to take its normal course and not pass any order bypassing the High Court; otherwise, a lot of prejudice would be caused to the accused.

Mr. Justice Khare said: "We are not bypassing the High Court. We exercise due caution. We only want the matter to be seriously prosecuted as it should be."

Appearing for the NHRC, senior counsel, T.R. Andhyarujina and P.P. Rao, said the State Government had shifted the entire blame for the acquittal of the accused to the Vadodara fast track court, which had indicted the police for "tardy investigation".

Appearing for the Citizens for Justice and Peace and the key witness, Zaheera, senior counsel, Shanthi Bhushan, reiterated that it was a fit case for ordering a trial outside Gujarat as it would not be proper to conduct the trial in the surcharged atmosphere prevailing in the State.

Appearing for Mallika Sarabhai and other petitioners, senior counsel, Indira Jaising, urged the court to direct the Gujarat Government to appoint a retired judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court from the minority community as a third member of the Commission of Inquiry probing the incidents. The panel should have a member from the Muslim community to instil confidence among the minority community.

The Bench asked the Gujarat Government to respond to these petitions within six weeks and submit a rejoinder, if any, in two weeks and said these issues would be considered at a later stage.

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