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National

Judge hearing Gulberg case says need to enlarge scope of representation

Manas Dasgupta

Matter in question is linked to national unity: Judge Joshi
Further hearing scheduled for December 13

AHMEDABAD: The special court judge, B. U. Joshi, hearing the Gulberg Society massacre case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, has sought the views of the civil society, the voluntary organisations and the media on various aspects to “arrive at the truth.”

In an order passed by the court on Monday, the judge observed, “Since the matter in question is linked to national unity, it is necessary not to limit the scope of representation on its various aspects.”

Roping in stakeholders

“In the interest of justice and to enable a proper decision, representation on all aspects of the case and by all organisations whose role have been discussed during the trial, needs to be taken into consideration,” the judge observed.

Direct representation

The court felt that there should be direct representation by the NGO, Citizen for Justice and Peace (CJP), working for some of the riot victims and by the media.

The court has asked the media to place its view on record with regard to the investigation in the case, phone call records and sting operation on some of the accused by a private television channel.

‘Media should use lawyer'

The judge gave the opinion that it would help the court in the search for truth if the media made its representation through its lawyer.

Sixty-nine persons, including the former Congress member of the Lok Sabha, Ehsan Jaffri, were killed in the Gulberg Society massacre.

Further hearing on the order passed by the court on Monday has been scheduled for December 13.

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