SC Clean Chit

The world-famous Gujarat riots happened in 2002, and from that day opposition parties especially Congress started blaming then CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi. There were many cases filed again by then Central Govt headed by Congress and many Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) also got involved in persecuting Narendra Modi, and their grouse was Modi did not try to diffuse the situation to control the riots, and their stand was he instigated/encouraged the people to go anti-Muslims.

On the instructions of the Supreme Court, a Special Investigation Team(SIT) was, which did thorough investigations of the Gujarat riots. So many times Modi was called for questioning, and he answered all the queries raised by SIT. In February 2012, SIT filed a closure report giving clean chit to now PM Modi, and 63 others, including senior officials, saying there was ‘no prosecutable evidence against them.

But one Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri was killed by a rioting mob during the violence in February 2002. She had challenged the SIT’s clean chit to Modi and 63 others. Her petition challenged the High Court’s order on 5^th October 2017 order rejecting her plea against the SIT decision. Now except for Zakia Jafri’s petition, nobody had raised finger against the SIT’s report on the probe conducted in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Zakia Jafri filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) in 2018. The plea also maintained that after SIT gave a clean chit in its closure report before a trial judge, Zakia Jafri had filed a protest petition which was dismissed by the Magistrate without considering “substantiated merits”. The HC in October 2017 order had said the SIT probe was monitored by SC. However, it had partly allowed her petition as far as its demand for further investigations was concerned, saying she can approach a proper forum. She chose to approach SC,  the petition on which SC gave the decision last week.

The three-judge bench of SC headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar upheld the Magistrate’s order rejecting Zakia Jafri’s protest petition against the closure report filed SIT in 2012. The SC, however, said that Jafri’s petition was motivated and prompted by some others, and all these persons will be proceeded with in accordance with the law. The SC clearly mentioned the name of Teesta Setalvad whose NGO was involved in supporting, instigating and financing Zakia Jafri to fight all these cases. SC also mentioned the names of a few Gujarat officials,  Sanjiv Bhatt, Haren Pandya, and RB Sreekumar. SC contention is that these officials’ testimony was only to senationalise, and politicize the matter, although, replete with falsehood. On these people’s false claims, the structure of a larger criminal conspiracy at the highest level has been erected. The same stands collapsed like a house of cards, the aftermath thorough investigation by SIT.

After the SC’s order, the Gujarat police came into action and they detained Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer RB Sreekumar. A court in Ahmedabad yesterday remanded both of them in police custody till 2^nd July 2022, in a case of fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in connection with the Gujarat riots. The FIR against them was registered, a day after the SC dismissed a petition challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

In India, there are many NGOs that receive foreign funding for certain issues, but this funding in many NGOs is being used to destabilize the country. Teesta Setalvad’s NGO was one of them. A few years back an inquiry was initiated against her NGO, and it was found that the NGO had diverted foreign funds received for other causes,  for fighting the legal battles connected with the Gujarat riots, and the NGO’s main aim was to frame Modi in the Gujarat riot cases.

Now an official of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) has condemned the detention of activist Teesta Setalvad, saying ‘defending human rights is not a crime’. Now, why should the official of UNO comment on the order of Indian SC?

Congress party’s reaction to this judgment of SC is—Their spoke person said ‘the BJP is misinterpreting the SC’s verdict as a clean chit on the Gujarat riots. The SC simply upheld the SIT’s report, which found there was a no larger conspiracy, and the violence was a spontaneous reaction’. My contention is that in SIT’s report it was said that there is no direct involvement of Narendra Modi in riots, and the report gave him a clean chit. But still, after that Congress leaders were using abusive and unparliamentary language against Modi, and terming him as ‘Merchant of Death- Maut Ka Saudagar’. Why Congress is forgetting that SIT was constituted during their rule at the center, because the report gave the clean chit to Modi, therefore they no longer have respect for that report of SIT’s investigation, which was carried out under the ambit of SC.

I hope, the SC’s verdict should end the debate on Modi’s role in killing Muslims during the riots. Now the highest court of the country has given the verdict, therefore the cribbing of Congress is not justified. The fact is that riots did happen, and still Congress is not able to stomach that, riots happened aftermath of the carnage at Godhra station where more than 50 Hindu Kar Sewaks were burnt alive on the train by a Muslim crowd. Congress only thinks about so many Muslims were killed in a riot, but they have never talked about Godhra incident.

Waiting for your views on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

27^th June 2022