The division bench of Justice Bhagwati Prasad and Justice Bankim Mehta upheld the Central POTA Review Committee (CPRC)’s recommendations announced earlier in this connection.

The ruling came on a petition filed by Sardarji Manganji Vaghela, whose son had been killed in the Godhra incident of February 26, 2002.

The SC had on October 21, 2008, upheld the findings of the CPRC and had maintained that it was binding on the Gujarat government. It had, however, made it clear that the opinion of the review committee could be challenged under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by any aggrieved person. It was owing to this Supreme Court order that Vaghela moved the HC and the CRPC’s recommendations were not implemented. The bench concluded that the Godhra incident was no doubt “shocking”, as it was capable of being treated as a serious criminal act,” but “fell short of the requirement of an act of terror”.

The bench said, the “material available lacked details to establish it as an act of terror or break the unity of communities.”

The CPRC had in right earnest considered the material available before it to decide whether the incident attempted to break the unity of the communities, it said.

The bench further observed that “the state did not make any serious attempt to show how the unity was intended to be damaged”. In his petition, Vaghela had challenged the CPRC recommendations, which had in May 2005, held that there was no conspiracy alleged to have been hatched in Godhra, and hence POTA could not be invoked against the accused.

The committee had recommended that the Godhra accused be tried under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Indian Railways Act, the Prevention of Damages of Public Property Act and the Bombay Police Act. The committee had also made its recommendations binding on the courts and investigating agencies.

The order will now allow the accused to move the trial court and seek bail earlier denied to them because of the POTA charges invoked against them. The bench gave two weeks to the petitioner to challenge its orders in the SC following an oral petition by the counsels of the petitioner that complications might arise in operation of the judgment, and it may require transfer of the case from special POTA court to the Sessions Court.

Fact file

A total of 134 people were accused in the Godhra carnage case of February 26, 2002. Of these, 116 were arrested and 18 were declared absconder, including one who has died. A total of 103 people were chargesheeted and 19 were bailed out, including three juvenile and two others who died. Three others died in judicial custody.