Barely a few days after the Modi government approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Gujarat High Court’s decision to uphold the Central POTA Review Committee’s (CPRC) recommendation on the Godhra episode, the apex court issued notices to the Centre and the accused.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, while issuing notices to the Centre and the accused on the appeals filed by the Gujarat government and one of the relatives of the victim, also sought a reply whether the order could be stayed or not.

The High Court had recently dismissed the petition challenging the decision of the CPRC to drop POTA charges against the 134 accused in the Godhra train burning case.

Sardarji Maganji Waghela, who lost his son in the carnage, had also filed an appeal against the High Court order that had dismissed his petition challenging the CPRC’s decision.

Senior advocate L Nageshwar Rao, appearing for the state government, contended that the High Court verdict has to be stayed, otherwise the Godhra case will be shifted from the special POTA Court to the regular court, and the accused will seek bail.

The bench, also comprising justices Markandeya Katju and P Sathasivam, however, said that relief to the state cannot be granted at the cost of personal liberty of an individual. “On one hand, we are opposed to terrorism, but we also have to uphold the fundamental rights and personal liberty of a citizen,” said Justice Katju, expressing his disagreement with the argument.

Although the High Court had not interfered with the findings of the CPRC, it had allowed Sardarji to approach the apex court within two weeks against its verdict by extending the stay on all proceedings in connection with the Godhra case. The transfer of the case from the designated POTA court to the Sessions Court was also stayed.

The POTA review committee, which was set up to repeal POTA, while examining the veracity of terror charges against the accused, had recommended dropping of the stringent charges under POTA against them.